CHAPEL HILL – Carrboro High School is the newest in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district. But the 2013 student government president, Kristen Lee says looking back on where she ended up going to school, she wouldn’t change it for the world.

“When I first stepped foot in Carrboro High School, I thought to myself, ‘why am I not at Chapel Hill High’, a school with rich history and murals, or perhaps East, a school with an impressively wide range of courses” Lee says. “But only a few weeks in, I realized what made Carrboro, Carrboro: it’s people, its mentality, its location, its beauty, its potential.”

East Chapel Hill started Commencement Saturday with 350 graduates and 19 valedictorians. Carrboro added 176 people to its alumni and while it only had three valedictorians, they too had powerful messages.

LaVerne Mattocks marked the end of her first year as principal at Carrboro High School on Saturday. She says looking back on her first year she has many accolades for which to be proud of the school, including state recognition.

“You know that the countless hours of studious endeavors, missed social events for studying, and accumulated days, hours, (and) months of standardized testing actually leads to your school being ranked No. 2 in the state of North Carolina, according to U.S. News and World Reports,” Mattocks says.

Check back soon to hear all the comments and a gallery of photos from Carrboro’s commencement.