As their feet stepped back onto the familiar tile and their eyes landed on the ropes framing the mosaic in the middle of the East High lobby, new inductees into the East High Hall of Fame, Randy Epler, Troy Dumas, Diane Sanchez, and Ken Uhrich breathed in the same air they had during the days they spent in these halls. Each one shared some advice with the students who went above and beyond academically at the annual academic letter ceremony. Around 120 students had a cumulative GPA of 3.75 and were rewarded with an academic letter or medal for their perseverance on September 23.

The inductees almost all mentioned how they did not prioritize academics while they were here and how they were able to change the way their lives resulted from the way they turned themselves around, giving the students some good inspiration to make it through the year.

There are general guidelines of how the inductees are chosen each year. Anyone can nominate any East High graduate, just as long as they have served the community in some way, either during the time they were at the school or since they graduated.

“It gives credit to the students for their hard work throughout the school year,” said junior Logan Cline, a recipient of his second academic letter this year, referring to the ceremony. ‘It also gives them the perspective of people who have gone through school and advice they have for what they would do differently.”

As Randy Epler, East graduate of 1979, gave the students sitting in the quiet auditorium an unexpected sense of spirit by making them yell “Bring it!” when he mentioned any activities that the students were involved in, he set the tone for the rest of the ceremony.

Mr. Epler, Mr. Dumas, Mrs. Sanchez, and Mr. Uhrich all told how they had their own struggles with persisting and keeping motivation and they wanted to give the students reason to excel in other activities as well, not only academically.

The only inductee that wasn’t able to contribute to this spirited ceremony was Lee Vaughn, a 1993 East High graduate. Vaughn will be honored at next year’s ceremony.