Two Close Friends Crowned Valedictorian And Salutatorian For Their High School Class

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Imagine you’re at home relaxing and enjoying your day, then suddenly you get a surprise visit from school leaders greeting you with a loud cheer, and crowning you the valedictorian and salutatorian for your class.

That’s what happened to Columbus High School seniors Jaikyeron Dukes and Aaliyah Harris on Friday.

The two accomplishments brought out a lot of emotion among the two seniors, family, and school leaders who were present during the celebration.

“Just to know that all of the hard work that I’ve been doing is actually leading up to this point, and just to have this accomplishment, it’s one of the greatest feelings,” said Harris, CHS salutatorian.

“I did not feel this coming,” said Dukes,” CHS valedictorian. “I knew that I was putting in the work for it, but I didn’t really know I was going to be valedictorian, I thought my friend was going to get it actually, but this is exhilarating.”

What makes the moment even sweeter is the fact that Harris and Dukes are close friends.

The classmates were overjoyed when they found out they finished in the top two of their class, and instantly hugged and took pictures together to congratulate one another.

In the midst of the celebration, the students acknowledged that it took a lot of hard work, determination and dedication to get them to this point.

“I really doubted myself a lot, so the fact that I’m valedictorian out of almost 200, if not 200 people, this is an exciting moment for me,” said Dukes.

“It feels good,” said Harris. “I’ve been working so hard, working all four years of my high school career, just trying to keep my grades up, keeping a job, so it was hard but it was worth it.”

“Everybody tells you it all starts in ninth grade, but before then I was already trying to keep all A’s, and just give myself a foundation to build on,” Dukes explained.

As their high school careers come to an end, they soon-to-be-graduates want to use their success and stories to help motivate and inspire the younger students coming up behind them.

“It doesn’t matter what you do, you can have a job, you may get discouraged, it doesn’t matter, you can still do it, you can still come out on top,” Harris expressed.

When it comes to their college plans, Harris wants to enroll at Ole Miss and major in criminal justice, then from there she wants to go into law school

Dukes is deciding whether to accept a full ride scholarship to Rust College, or attend Mississippi State University where she plans to major in either biology or psychology.

Harris and Dukes will give their speeches as the valedictorian and salutatorian, which will air when the graduation ceremony is shown on WCBI next Saturday beginning at 12:30 P.M.