Another year has come and gone at Vicksburg High School, and about 215 students will depart its hallowed halls to begin the next chapter of their journey. The road to graduation has been marked with challenges and victories, but there to cheer them on their final year have been senior sponsors Donna Carpenter and Jenny Drake, who is retiring this year.

The number of students graduating is up from last year, English teacher Donna Carpenter said.

“We have a significant number of graduating juniors this year,” she said. “Probably about 20 to 24 are juniors. Our new schedule, the four by four, is helping with that.”

Carpenter said she is responsible for coordinating and overseeing graduation, informing seniors of their duties and responsibilities and guiding seniors through college applications.

“I also encourage them to keep going,” Carpenter said. “I think that’s the most important thing is letting them know you believe in them and they can do what they may think they can’t do.”

Carpenter had been the co-sponsor for the junior class up until two years ago, but the transition was not as difficult as she thought it would be due to the diligence of Ann Habeeb.

“Ms. Habeeb, who had been the senior class sponsor for many years, left an itemized list and schedule for me to follow,” she said. “That’s really been helpful, and if I need anything, she tells me, ‘I’m just a phone call away.’ ”

Carpenter said it’s been a fun journey getting to know the students over the year.

“I keep the books at all the basketball games at home and I’m the assistant volleyball coach,” she said. “That helps because when the kids see you in those extracurricular activities, they kind of relax and see you in a different venue, a different role.”

Carpenter said this year’s class has shown a lot of leadership and they’ve gotten along well as a whole.

“I think quite a number of them have proven to be accomplished in different areas,” she said. “We’ve had many sign for different athletic scholarships. We have a number that will be Mississippi scholars that are working to get into college with scholarships.”

Carpenter said she can’t wait to see what the members of the class of 2016 go on to accomplish, which could be anything.

“They need to believe in themselves,” she said. “I think they need to actually believe in their goals and work to achieve them. They can do and be anything they want. They world is their oyster.”

Keeping up with the students after they’ve graduated is a joy, Carpenter said.

“Some of the students come back and share what you did to help prepare them and they thank you,” she said. “Other times they come back just to get a hug. I had two young men come by yesterday — and that’s nice just to see them.”

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Editor’s note: This story is the second in a series of four, publishing each Tuesday leading up the local high schools’ graduations. The stories are meant to highlight the schools’ senior sponsors, often unsung heroes, who help students bridge the gap to adulthood.