Consisting of only three seniors, who have a total over $700,000 college scholarship offerings, the first graduating class of Eastminster School in Conyers will have the stage all to themselves on May 29.
Matthew Brock,17, Trent Fowler,18, and Boyce Poleon,18, each said they are proud to be part of the original group.
"It feels like such a special occasion to have a starting role," said Brock.
Unlike most high school graduations that have limited tickets for seating due to the large amount of graduates, this trio does not have that problem.
"We get 20 tickets," said Fowler. "And they said if we need more, we can get more."
The boys are also required to give speeches.
"With only three of us, [to the school] we're not just a number, but it's our name that is important," said Fowler.
And these three have been making their name since they enrolled in their ninth grade year. Eastminster, a private non-profit that teaches grades K-12, has 137 students and the intimate setting makes it easier for the boys to get involved. Fowler has started an equestrian team which competes through the Interscholastic Equestrian Association and Brock and Poleon were teaching kindergarteners how to swim which lead to the creation of a swim group that competes at Johnson Park.
"The teachers and administrators include us in making a lot of decisions and we get a lot of respect from them," said Poleon.
Though the seniors may not have taken part in traditional senior gatherings, such as prom, the school found an alternative and chaperoned dinner at Gordon Biersch in Atlanta and the "American Idiot" musical at the Fox Theatre accompanied by their dates.
After four years, the end is near and the graduates plan to start their college education in the fall. Brock will be attending Mercer as an engineering major, Fowler will begin at the University of Georgia as a Biology major and Poleon has been accepted into Florida Institute of Technology to pursue software engineering and he has also been accepted into the Air Force.
"Eastminster has sculpted us," said Polean. "If we ever become anything one day, we would definitely thank the school."
