Graduation will be held June 2, 2012, at 4 p.m, at Center Pointe Community Church, 9380 Curry Ford Road.

The 2012 WAA yearbooks have arrived and can be purchased from Mrs. Johnson.

From touring the sights to staying in a hotel to visiting colleges, students found Atlanta an easy place to have fun during spring break.

“I loved it, and it was a great experience,” said senior Raeshundra Crowell, who added that she especially enjoyed the CNN Studios tour, since it offered a behind-the-scenes look at television production.

For senior Marleni Reyes, the aquarium held the most allure, followed by the governor’s house and the Anna Maria College.

Reporting to be a true sports guy, senior Matthew Manuel raved about visiting Turner Field, the ballpark for the Atlanta Braves.

Junior Jocelyn Livingston called everything fun.

Senior Khalila Goodman thought the hotel was nice and Underground Atlanta a fun place to buy souvenirs for her family members and shoes.

Juniors Romello Potts, Kianu Crichlow and Jasmin Trubinski were invited to join the Y Young Achiever’s College tour of Washington, D.C., to visit college campuses and tour the capital region’s historic and cultural sights.

“I enjoyed seeing the different campuses, and the Jefferson and Martin Luther King Memorials,” said Potts, who enjoyed meeting Ben Carson, MD, who triumphed over a difficult childhood to become a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The trip included visits to Virginia and Baltimore.

“It was a very good experience, and I would love to go again,” Potts said.

Devontae Riley, who attended Workforce Advantage Academy last year, stopped by the school during his spring break to share with current students his experiences as a college student at West Virginia State, where he is studying criminal justice and playing football. Riley aims to play for the National Football League after graduation and to pursue a master’s degree. Meanwhile, he studies hard, saying that will pay off.
“Focus, that’s the best thing you can do,” Riley advised the students. “It makes everything better. And once you earn a degree, no one can take it from you.”

Riley also talked about the challenges of growing up and hearing people say negative things about his future and how that motivated him.

“Make it your point to succeed,” Riley said. “Invest in your future. You are the CEO of your life. I’m going to direct my own path.”

In just more than a year at his first job, Brandon Johnson has been promoted to a key holder at HoneyBaked Ham on Colonial Drive. He opens, closes, hires and ensures the store is maintained and operating at peak efficiency to satisfy the customer experience. He takes pride in the store’s quality, appearance and aims for customers to enjoy a top-rate first visit, so they will return in the futre.

“It’s a lot of responsibility, but I am up for it,” Johnson said. “I know the job like the back of my hand. I like to make sure my job is done to the best of my abilities.”

The senior plans to major in business and music when he enters college in the fall, as preparation for starting his own company.

Audrey Brown, PhD, and Ebony Whitby, both from the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), met with Transition class students teach them how to properly fill out job applications and how to follow up appropriately. The OUC mentors have been a tremendous help in preparing Workforce Academy students to enter and succeed in the workplace.

Government and Business Law students took a field trip to the Florida A&M Law School in Orlando to learn more about legal careers and the educational requirements. They met with three current students, who shared their experiences; wandered around an appellate courtroom, and took a tour of the facility, including the law library, which is open to the public.

Gerri McCormick, an outreach representative from the Florida Department of Education, met with students to explain the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and to help them with their applications.