TSA celebrates Class of '19
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Thomas Sumter Academy celebrated its 2019 graduating class on May 18. The hard work by the 22 graduates paid off as they were offered more than $8 million in scholarships and grants.
Additionally, the class of 2019 working with Central Carolina Technical College earned 366 transferable dual-enrollment college credits. Graduates will be attending such institutions as Wofford College, The College of Charleston, Clemson University, the University of South Carolina Honors College and The Citadel.
The class of 2019 was led by two strong young women. The class valedictorian was Riley DeLavan, who graduated with an astounding 5.34 grade-point average and 24 college credits. She will attend Wofford College in the fall. Isabella Crowe was the class salutatorian. She graduated with a 5.29 grade-point average and 30 college credits. She will begin University of South Carolina Honors College as a sophomore.
Ben Burress, TSA graduate from the class of 2008, was the commencement speaker. The TSA alumnus delivered an eloquent speech about seizing every opportunity that life offers. Burress is a University of South Carolina alumnus as well. In 2014, he accepted a yearlong football operations internship with the Carolina Panthers. He was subsequently promoted after the 2014 football season to an operations assistant/offensive coaching assistant. He held this position for three years, including being a part of the staff of the Panthers playing in Super Bowl V. In January 2018, he accepted a position as the assistant to the head coach with the Arizona Cardinals. This past March, he returned to the East Coast accepting the offensive coaching staff assistant position with the New York Giants. He is responsible for breaking down and analyzing film of weekly opponents, compiling weekly game plans for coaches and players and working with the wide receivers.
TSA is proud of the accomplishments of the class of 2019. The determination shown by these students is what it means to be a TSA General.
For more information about Thomas Sumter Academy, visit https://thomassumteracademy.org/. - Trever Miller