Pillow Academy is set to send off its team of Mustangs during the Class of 2021’s commencement ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday.
The group of 53 seniors will walk the stage at the Leflore County Civic Center and receive their diplomas.
Barrett Donahoe, Pillow’s head of school, said he is happy that this “really special group” will get to participate in the school’s first indoor graduation ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“We are so excited to give the seniors this opportunity and to have them celebrate this moment in a more normal setting,” Donahoe said. “I really hope they enjoy the moment.”
Among the graduates will be valedictorian Arushi Thakur and salutatorian Caroline Brock.
Arushi Thakur
Caroline Brock
Thakur, whose GPA is 4.93, will be attending Tulane University, where she plans to follow a pre-med track, majoring in cell and molecular biology as well as dance.
Thakur acknowledges that dance and biology are two very different fields, but she said she loves both equally.
“I’ve been dancing since I was 3 years old. And I can honestly say I just don’t want to give it up. I have derived so much joy from that aspect of my life and doing it in every way possible that I just want to continue that into college.”
In addition to Pillow’s dance team, Thakur has been a part of many of the school’s clubs and organizations, including the International Thespian Society, the senior board of directors and the photography club.
Brock, whose GPA is 4.87, will be attending the University of Mississippi, where she plans to major in biology with a double minor in psychology and society and health before heading to medical school.
While at Pillow, Brock was heavily involved in sports and was on the soccer, basketball, tennis, track and cheer teams. She was also the secretary of the senior class.
“I’m definitely going to miss all my sports. I don’t really know how I’m going to function this summer not having to wake up at like 7 in the morning for basketball and soccer every single day,” Brock said, adding that she plans to participate in intramural sports when she gets to Ole Miss. “And the camaraderie with my teammates — it’s going to be weird not having that anymore.”
Thakur and Brock, who are good friends, were members on the quiz bowl team.
“I’m just very thankful to everybody that helped me get to where I am and definitely to Arushi, who has pushed me a lot harder over the years to work harder,” Brock said.
One thing that both Thakur and Brock said they would miss is the feeling of community that a smaller graduating class can offer.
“I truly can like say, from the bottom of my heart that I have graduated with the best class at Pillow Academy. Maybe I’m a little biased, but I truly have had the most wonderful experiences with every single person in my class,” Thakur said.
“I really like going to a small school, being able to know everybody walking down the hall and always having familiar faces around you and cheering you on,” Brock said.
While some schools opted for virtual learning during the school year, Pillow Academy continued in-person classes.
Both Thakur and Brock said there were some changes to the normal senior-year experience.
“Due to COVID, there had to be changes for the safety of all of us, which, obviously, is very understandable, but I will say that Pillow Academy and our senior parents and everybody did a really amazing job of still making our senior year as amazing as it possibly could have been,” Thakur said. “I genuinely did not feel like I was missing out on huge experiences or anything like that because they really tried their best to get everything to happen within the confines of our safety.”
Brock agreed.
“I feel like masks were the only thing that was really a big difference,” she said. “But, other than that, it felt pretty close to normal — or as normal could be right now.”
- Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. On Twitter at @AdamBakst_GWCW.
