Heritage Park High School graduated 60 seniors in its fourth annual commencement ceremony.
Principal Michelle Ruckdeschel said this year’s graduating class is a very resilient group of young adults.
“They have had many challenges to face through the years and they have learned how to overcome those and remain focused on attaining their high school diploma,” she said. “The class of 2019 is our fourth graduating class for Heritage Park and we are proud of all they have accomplished and excited to see what the future holds for them.”
One graduate is 19-year old Logan Severs from Stanley. After beginning his high school career at Apollo High School he transferred to HPHS during his junior year after he said he fell in with the wrong crowd and started acting out in school, skipping classes and making bad choices.
Ruckdeschel said Severs represents the spirit of the school as he has shown resiliency in times of both family stress and loss this year and has also overcome struggles of his own.
Severs began pursuing a career in welding by beginning coursework at Owensboro Community and Technical College while attending high school. His goal is to a traveling welder.
“He demonstrates perseverance through his ability to self-advocate,” she said.
Growing up on a farm, Severs said he has been around welders his whole life. When he was a freshman he heard about the growing demand for welders and learned he could make “pretty good money” on the job.
After making the choice to transfer to HPHS he started to thrive in the classroom. Severs credited guidance counselor Faith Butler and credit recovery teacher Michael Claycomb for getting him to graduation.
“If it wasn’t for the staff and teachers at Heritage I wouldn’t be going to college,” he said. “They work with you until you have a plan for the future.”
Another struggle for Severs was losing his infant niece in January.
“It was hard,” he said. “It was my first time being an uncle. I just loved her so much. You wonder who she would have been in life.”
He said while his family suffered some hard times, ultimately his grandparents pushed him to graduate high school.
“My papaw and Nee always encouraged me to finish school,” he said. “My grandad was hard on me because at one point they were afraid I wasn’t going to graduate. So I’m proud to be doing this for them.”
While he was excited to graduate Saturday, Severs said he is looking forward to the next step in his life and he’s excited to see who he can become.
“I enjoyed high school, but you can’t stay there forever.”
