Gavin Donald was the star of the show as Leo’s Class of 2025 kicked off Graduation Week activities with the Senior Luncheon at Maggiano’s Downtown Restaurant on Wednesday, April 30.
The Senior Prom is scheduled for the downtown Willis Tower on Friday, May 2. The Class will graduate at St. Margaret of Scotland Church on Sunday, May 11 – Mother’s Day.
In “Senior Superlative” voting by his classmates, Donald was recognized for understanding the meaning of friendship, for his “beacon of light” positive attitude, for being the best-dressed member of the class and for being most likely to take over as principal of Leo High School.
A product of St. Sabina Academy, Donald has been an honor student, a class officer and a four-year football player at Leo. He also received a $2,500 Marquette Bank award for scholarship, leadership and citizenship, which he will use toward tuition at Jackson State University.
With well over 100 graduates, family members and Leo staffers in the audience, the Class of 2025 recognized Marshawn Durr and Joshua Smith twice. Durr, who played football, baseball and basketball at Leo, shared the Best Athlete award with Neil Anderson and was cited as most likely to become a coach.
His classmates see medical education in Joshua Smith’s future; he was voted most likely to become a doctor and most likely to become a teacher. Nick Armour, all-conference in football, wrestling and track, was cited as most likely to turn pro.
Carlin Henry was recognized for being accepted to 14 colleges, while the $800,000 offered Aiden Lott in scholarship assistance was another superlative. Kaleb Larry was deemed most likely to become a political leader, and social media maven Shane Shambley most likely to become an “influencer.”
Keith Smith, one of the lead voices in the world-renowned Leo Choir, was cited as most likely to win a Grammy, and Ryan “CJ” Cunningham was voted best dancer.
On Thursday, May 1, 29 seniors made their college choices known in a “signing day” ceremony in the Leo gym, and NBC Chicago was hear to tell the story. Chicago’s Roosevelt University and Jackson State, an HBCU in Mississippi and alma mater of Walter Payton, were the big winners, landing three Lions apiece. https://www.nbcchicago.com/local-2/leo-high-school-celebrates-academic-excellence-on-decision-day/3735783/
Another dozen or more graduates are awaiting word on financial assistance before declaring a college choice.
The list:
Derrion Anderson: Alabama A&M
Neil Anderson: Triton College
Nick Armour: Bowie (Md.) State
Lordan Black: Northern Illinois
Rashard Cerant: Northern Illinois
Joshua Clark: U.S. Air Force enlistee
Ryan Cunningham: Northern Michigan
Gavin Donald: Jackson State
Kam’ron Dove: Roosevelt University
Ian Dunn: Clark Atlanta
Marshawn Durr: Jackson State
Daniel Gamble: Purdue Northwest
Tyshaun Glenn: Wilberforce (Ohio)
Jayden Hart: Olive Harvey College
Carlin Henry: Eastern Illinois
Jesse Howard: UIC
Daniel Jackson: Arrupe College
Jaquan Jackson: St. Xavier
Makai Jackson: SIU Carbondale
Ryan Kilgore: DePaul
Kaleb Larry: Penn State
Aiden Lott: Cal Poly SLO
Justin Murphy: Lincoln (Mo.)
Khaliq Rhazaak: Roosevelt University
Xavier Robinson: Jackson State
Shane Shambley: University of Memphis
Joshua Smith: Xavier (New Orleans)
Christian Whiteside: Vincennes University
Tyler Wilcox: Roosevelt University