Laurel Christian Home Educators announce graduates

To the Leader-Call

May 08, 2008 10:10 am

— Laurel Christian Home Educators will have Commencement exercises of the senior class of 2008 at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 10, at Audubon Drive Bible Church in Laurel.

Nancy Alyssa Barnard, 17, the daughter of Steve and Raenelle Barnard, has been home educated since kindergarten. She has taken formal art lessons throughout her high school years. In addition to her time spent drawing, she also enjoys playing the piano and has taken lessons for the past nine years.
She also enjoys working with children through Vacation Bible School, children’s church, and babysitting. Some of her other interests include reading, being outside, spending time with her family and Bible studies with her church youth group. She has been actively involved in Bible Drill competition since the fourth grade and participated in her ninth state drill in April 2008. She also enjoys being involved in church activities including mission trips and work days. Along with various other community service projects, much of her time is spent caring for her elderly grandmother.
She is employed by American Greetings and also continues to baby-sit. Although she has yet to decide on a college major, She plans to pursue further instruction in art.

Amber Caitlin Brown, 18, the daughter of Richard and Lorie Roach of Buckatunna, has been home educated since the fourth grade. She attends Denham Baptist Church and enjoys participating in the youth group as well as other church activities.
Brown’s extra-curricular activities include piano lessons and ballet classes. In her elementary years she played soccer, but her all-time favorite sport has been softball. For 11 years, she played for the Dixie Youth League in Waynesboro, proudly claiming second base as her territory, although she has played several other positions.
Brown has participated in TeenPact, a week long government class held at the state capital each year. She has also worked with two different political campaigns in New Orleans, La. and Shreveport, La. for Bobby Jindal, the present governor of Louisiana.
Brown enjoys traveling and has been to numerous places in the United States as well as across the border to Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico. She is especially fond of the city of Portland, Oregon. She also enjoys fishing, camping, swimming in the creek, and mud riding.
In addition to her home school studies, Brown has worked part-time at a local restaurant for the last two years. She plans to attend Jones County Junior College in the fall. She is currently undecided about a major but has considered a career in public relations.

Caleb Matthew Clanton is the third child of Mike and Pam Clanton, and has been home educated his entire life. He has combined his love of family and history by tracing the roots of his paternal great-grandparents. Clanton’s love of family genealogy began with his deep-seeded interest in history. And while he enjoys researching the past, Clanton’s place in the family's present-day activities is also important. He works daily with the family business. Three seasons out of the year, he continues to operate his lawn care business that he purchased from his brother in 2006, after having worked part-time in the business since 2003.
Not only does Clanton play drums and guitar, but he also composes and has written music and lyrics for a number of original songs. He recently began coin collecting and enjoys studying business and participating in political activities. Clanton attended TeenPact for three years, worked with the Bobby Jindal Campaign Student Project for two years, participated in Bible Drill competition for five years and competed in Speech and Debate with Laurel Christian Home Educators.
Clanton’s plans to delay college in order to work, research, and pursue business interests.

Susan Ferguson Holt, 17, the daughter of David and Barbara Holt and has been home educated since kindergarten. She is an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church where she has been involved in youth group and youth choir. Participation in Promise Kids Children’s Ministry has given her the opportunity for service and leadership. After four years of Bible Drill, Holt earned a trophy from the Mississippi Baptist Convention. Youth group participation has made it possible for her to serve on mission trips, not only to places within Mississippi but also to places outside her home state, such as Alabama, Kentucky, and Mexico. She participated in Reformed Youth Ministries in Panama City, Fla, and served as a Leader in Training at Twin Lakes Summer Camp.
Holt has attended state and national TeenPact classes and conferences. Student Projects give extra practice in the political process, and Holt has attended them in Birmingham, Ala. New Orleans, La., Monroe, La. and Tupelo. In 2007, she enjoyed serving the Mississippi Senate as a page.
Participating in horse clinics have been another enjoyable activity. Holt has been riding horses since age 10. She also enjoys participating in speech tournaments.
She has served as a lifetime volunteer for the Christian Food Mission. As a babysitter, she has cared for over 45 children during the past six years.
Holt is currently dually enrolled at Jones County Junior College and will continue her studies there in the fall.

Amber Marie Hudson, the eldest daughter of David and Angela Hudson, has been home educated since the sixth grade. She is a member of Denham Baptist Church where she loves participating in the youth group. Hudson enjoys hanging out with family and friends, reading, and playing the piano. She has a part-time job and plans to attend college in the fall.

Joseph Matthew Jones, 17, is the son of Jason and Sharon Jones, is the fifth of eight children. He has been home educated since kindergarten, and is currently dually enrolled at home and at Jones County Junior College.
As a member of Audubon Drive Bible Church, Jones participated in a mission trip to Jilotepec, Mexico, in July 2007, where he was involved with helping his team do building and repair work.
He enjoys playing sports in his free time, as well as playing drums in the band in which he is currently a member. He has also been working part time for a number of years, with the most recent jobs being at North Jones Animal Clinic and Houston Processing Plant.
Jones’ plans for his near future are not finalized at this time but could possibly include a military enlistment after taking a few more classes at Jones County Junior College.

Mary Carole Kiewit, 17, the daughter of Scott and Carole Kiewit of Laurel, has been home educated for 12 years. She competed for four years in speech and debate through the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA), qualifying three successive years in debate for the Region VII Invitational Regional Tournament. She participated in the TeenPact National Leadership Program, in which she participated in Bobby Jindal’s 2007 Gubernatorial Campaign in Louisiana.
In shotokan karate, Kiewit has achieved the rank of Brown Belt. Additionally, she played two years of soccer with the Laurel Jones County Soccer Association and is currently an assistant coach for a U-8 soccer team. She enjoys competitive tennis and playing the guitar. As an avid outdoorsman, her favorite pastimes include deer hunting, riding dirt bikes, skiing, and raising her dog.
Kiewit enjoys the various exciting classical works that her sister Julia throws her way. She also enjoys reading about the United States Civil War.
Kiewit is employed part-time with Challange Country. She has gained life experience from numerous opportunities to travel with her family across the United States, and also to the Philippines, Canada, and to Mexico on two mission trips.
After graduation, she plans to continue her education; however, she has not yet selected a major.

James Andrew May is the son of Chuck and Sherrill May of the Sharon community. The oldest of six children, he has been home educated since the first grade. May has a love for music that started at a very young age. Beginning at age two, he would sing on stage with the Houston Road Boys, the southern gospel group with whom his father sings. As May got older, he began operating the sound system for the group. He also enjoys working with the audio/visual department at Houston Road Baptist Church where he and his family attends.
May enjoys spending time with his friends and family. Within the church, he is the worship leader for the student ministry and is active in both the music ministry, AWANA Derby, and the Operation Christmas Child ministry. May will be joining a group from Houston Road Baptist Church who will serve with World Changers Ministry this summer in Lenoir City, Tenn. He will also be serving as a mission camper at Mission Camp Macon, which is sponsored by Lake Forest Ranch of Macon.
May is a member of the Laurel Swim Association. He qualified to swim at the 2008 MSI State Swim Meet. He has also served as president for the Laurel ‘Dubya’ TARS. He has been a part of the Laurel Ballet Academy spring performance for four of the past five years, operating either the sound or the lighting.
He plans on attending Jones County Junior College in the fall.

Born into a family in full-time ministry, Marcus Hagen Morton has had quite a diverse and mobile life, living in 12 different homes, in two states, and in two foreign countries, England and Scotland. He is the son of Max and Nancy Morton. While living in Ellisville, fishing and swimming in the pond were favorite pastimes, along with mud fights, which made for hours of brotherly fun (by now he had three younger brothers). Morton attended Grace Covenant Church where he enjoyed participating in functions like Generation Nation Youth Camp.
Morton has worked at Quiznos Sub in Laurel since he was 16, and his hobbies include photography, hanging out with friends, listening to music, and playing the djembe (drum) on the worship team at his church. He plans to explore a future in photography and graphic arts and the possibility of beginning Jones County Junior College in the fall.

Lester Bernard Scott is the eldest son of Lester and Felita Scott and the second of nine children. He has been home educated since kindergarten.
While regularly attending Audubon Drive Bible Church, he has served in the choir, Wednesday night supper ministry, Kingdom Seekers ministries and Child Evangelism ministries. He has also had opportunities to work for the Laurel Christian Food Mission and a local commercial cleaning service.
Scott has enjoyed participating in activities such as Speech and Debate, TeenPact Mississippi, taekwondo karate, and Boy Scouts. Some of Scott's most enjoyable hobbies are playing the piano, singing, composing and writing songs, playing basketball, working with the youth, reading, and helping others.
As he contemplates his future, he envisions himself being an entrepreneur, owning several restaurants and various businesses. He desires to work for a year and then attend Jones County Junior College. He then plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi and study in the field of business.

Bailey Dianne Webb, 17, is the daughter of Stacy and Jennifer Webb of Laurel. She is the oldest of six children and has been home educated since kindergarten.
Webb is an active member in her youth group at Highland Baptist Church, where she is involved in a leadership training program. This program has given her the opportunity to attend seminars led by Dr. Jay Strack, a nationally acclaimed speaker and author.
The last two summers she has worked with World Changers and Habitat for Humanity, building houses in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Webb will attend Jones County Junior College in the fall. She plans to pursue a degree in psychology.

Matthew Patrick Williams, a Hattiesburg native, lives in Chicora with his father and mother, Don and Carol Williams, and his sister, Victoria.
Williams attended first through the sixth grades at Immaculate Conception Church in Laurel, graduating with highest honors and other scholastic awards. Seventh and eighth grades were spent at Waynesboro Middle School where he graduated as historian and also received additional awards. He began home education in the tenth grade and will receive his diploma from Seton Home Study School.
He attends St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Waynesboro, where for many years he was an altar server, and now plays the guitar for the music ministry. He is an active member of the Immaculate Conception Church youth group, with which he traveled to Saltillo, Mexico, on a mission trip, where the team assisted families by distributing food, clothing, and toys.
After studying piano for about seven years, Williams began to learn guitar through self teaching. He loves playing the guitar, writing music and singing and hopes to record his music and start a band. Apart from music, his hobbies include attending Wayne County football games, canoeing, and attending youth group activities. He also loves to travel and would like to visit Ireland and Germany again.
Williams is currently helping his parents run their canoe rental business and plans to study business at Jones County Junior College. Building green communities is one of his goals. He is also thinking about running for President when he is old enough.