Tonight, 467 seniors from Habersham Central High School and the Habersham Success Academy will graduate. School administrators are expecting a record crowd as the school returns to a traditional ceremony at Raider Stadium following last year’s socially-distanced affair.
Graduation begins at 8 p.m. It will be livestreamed on YouTube and carried live here on Now Habersham.
This year’s graduation will feature an address by HCHS Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Dr. Emily Foster Howell (’96) and valedictorian Amber Wojteczko.
“It’s definitely been an odd year– or two years, I guess,” Wojteczko said during a reception honoring her and salutatorian Ege “AJ” Keskin. She says she’s “really excited” for graduation although “I’m sad to leave all my friends.”
Wojteczko plans to attend Georgia Tech in the fall, where she plans to look into a future in engineering. She hopes to one day work in artificial intelligence technology.
Salutatorian Keskin is the son of Turkish immigrant and HCHS teacher, Gulnur Pendaz. Keskin came to HCHS during his ninth grade year when his mother took a position as an AP Chemistry teacher. He says his favorite memory at HCHS is taking her class, and that her support has been a significant part of his success.
“Even when I was doing badly– I wasn’t the best student in ninth grade– she was still supportive and said to try my best, and I did,” said Keskin.
“Find your passion and give to others”
Howell, was valedictorian of her senior class. While attending the University of Georgia in 2001, she was crowned Miss Georgia and competed in the 2002 Miss America Pageant. She went on to graduate summa cum laude with highest honors from UGA with a degree in Management Information Systems. She used the $25,000 in scholarship money she won in the pageants to pursue her childhood goal of becoming an orthodontist.
Howell received her DMD degree and a post-doctoral certificate in Orthodontics from the Medical College of Georgia. She opened Howell Orthodontics in Jefferson, Georgia, which has been recognized as the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce “Small Business of the Year” and voted “Best Orthodontist in Jackson County.”
In 2011, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce named Dr. Howell its Business Woman of the Year. In 2015 she was selected as one of UGA’s “40 Under 40” honorees. Benco Dental’s Incisal Edge magazine named her one of its “Top 40 Under 40” best dentists in America in 2018.
“Though her accomplishments within her career are outstanding, those who know Dr. Howell emphasize the difference she is making in her community,” the HCHS Lifetime Achievement Award selection committee stated when announcing her as this year’s recipient.
A devout Christian, Dr. Howell’s faith inspires her to help others.
She initiated the annual program “Give a Grin” in 2009, which affords an underprivileged Jackson County middle schooler with completely free comprehensive orthodontic treatment. In addition, Dr. Howell started “Serve Save Smile,” a program in her office that allows patients a credit of $10 towards braces for every hour of volunteer service, up to $500 per patient. So far, she has credited more than $80,000 for over 8,000 hours of volunteer work by her patients.
“The world tells you to try to earn more, be more and spend more to be happy,” she told Incisal Edge. “Don’t serve money or let money rule you. Find your passion and give to others, and you’ll be much happier.”
HCHS will host an awards ceremony and reception honoring Dr. Howell at 5 p.m. in the high school cafeteria prior to graduation.
Those attending the reception and graduation are reminded that beginning at 4:45 p.m., law enforcement will close Camp Creek Road between Ga. 197 South and Owens Circle. You should leave yourself plenty of time to avoid traffic and find parking. Handicapped parking is limited and is located in the lot adjacent to the visitor side of Raider Stadium. The stadium is located at 171 Raider Circle, Mt. Airy, Georgia, 30563.
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