By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City High School’s Class of 2026 went out with grace, dignity, and class.
Commencement exercises for the outgoing group were a mixture of all things good as the community showed up in mass at War Memorial Stadium to recognize and pay tribute to 89 graduates on Saturday morning.
Class valedictorian Clare Atwill and salutatorian Addison Carr delivered the keynote addresses to their fellow seniors and the packed stands in the newly renovated stadium.
Both Atwill and Carr thanked family members, teachers, administrators, mentors, and the community in their respective speeches, and acknowledged triumphs and trials in the group’s educational journey to date.
“I am most thankful that God intentionally placed each of us in this class,” Atwill said in her speech. “It is from my classmates that I have learned my biggest lessons. In the wise words of Bill Withers, we all need someone to lean on. Thank you to Union City High School for bringing me my people I can lean on.
“No one is meant to live life alone. And at Union City High School, you were never alone. After all, what good is success when you have no one to share it with?
“I pray we may find true love with a family to come home to and friends to make memories with above anything else.”
Carr followed class president Byron Abbott, who welcomed guests and delivered a heartfelt prayer that acknowledged and paid tribute to UCHS junior student Paul Martin Tohn, who died tragically in an auto accident on Thursday night.
“As we navigate this difficult time, I hope we can continue to lean on each other,” Abbott said.
“Lord, help us stay true to the people we said we’d become. We pray for our next steps. Keep Paul Martin and the Tohn family in your prayers.”
Carr kept with the togetherness theme in her delivery.
“While graduation marks the ending of an era in our lives, it also marks the beginning of another,” Carr said. “We are stepping into a future of opportunities, challenges, and choices that will define who we are for the rest of our lives.
“Each of us (graduates) has had a community of people who have loved and supported us along the way. To my classmates, thank you for the memories, the laughter, and the relationships that will last a lifetime.”
UCHS Principal Jacob Cross then acknowledged a number of groups and individuals who’d excelled in the classroom and earned special accolades.
- All totaled, the group has been offered over $4.2M in scholarships while performing 3,264 hours of community service. Sixty-one percent of the class qualified for the HOPE Scholarship, and members of the class have earned 519 dual enrollment credits through the University of Tennessee at Martin, Bethel University, and TCAT Northwest.
- There are 15 graduates of the prestigious UCHS College Preparatory Magnet School, and those students average 29.53 on the ACT. A dozen class members scored 30 or higher on the ACT, with the average score of the entire class on the ACT being 21.88.
- The class features 30 honors graduates, meaning they met all four benchmarks on the ACT. There are 32 Distinction graduates, 16 BETA graduates, and 11 Tennessee Scholars.
- Thirteen members of the class of 2026 earned the national certification of Patient Care Technician, while one student earned the national certification from the CompTIA test.
- Fifty-six percent of the class will attend a four-year college. Another 24 percent will attend a vocational or technical school, and 14 percent will go on to community college. Six percent of the graduating class plans to join the workforce.
“You’ve held firm to the ‘No Excuses’ attitude that Mr. Kennedy has instilled in all of us,” Cross told the graduates, noting a popular saying by the UC Director of Schools.
“You’ve been one of our most generous classes with your community service hours, and you’ve continued the trend of helping make us a National Beta Club School of Merit. And with your success, you’ve helped us remain on the list of U.S. News and World Report’s list of ‘Top High Schools in the country.’
“Well done.”
UC School board members Cathy Waggoner, Seth Rhenberg, and Rev. Curtis McLendon then handed out diplomas, with Cross announcing each graduate’s name before Kennedy confirmed the class as the large crowd erupted in applause.