Sloan Coolbroth learned real life skills by raising funds, organizing and managing a project to earn his Eagle Scout rank. Coolbroth, is a member of the Boy Scouts of America, Foothills District, Troop #444 out of The Walker School. Sloan and his family attend Mt. Bethel United Methodist  Church and many friends from church joined in to help as they constructed a playground for Iglesia Bautista Emanuel over the weekend. At the same time, the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts have begun work with the men of the church to build a new troop in this area.

Genna Heetland, 18 Accomplishments:  Competitive cheerleader and was an all-levels world champion for Sting Ray All-Stars; member of Blue Crew, the school’s spirit club. Best Memory of High School:  The unintended blackout at the last football game of the season when it was supposed to be a “pinkout.” Students arrived dressed in pink, but the lights went out at the game. “Everyone went crazy. It was awesome. It took an hour for the lights come back on.” Post-graduation plans: Attending University of Mississippi to study broadcasting and public relations. Final thoughts about Marietta High and…

Lauryn Webster, 17 Accomplishments:  Prom queen; graduated with honors; played center for Marietta High Blue Devils girls basketball team and named team’s best defensive player with more than 100 blocks. Best Memory of High School:  Senior Class campout on the backfield of Marietta High School Post-graduation plans: Attending University of Wake Forest on a basketball scholarship. Final thoughts about Marietta High and the Class of 2011: “Our class is very diverse and hard-working. We work as a collective unit and work well together.”

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Maggie Henderson, 18 Accomplishments:  Captain of girls cross country and track team, which placed seventh in the state this year; holds four school records with bests in 5K, 1600m, 3200m and pole vault; full diploma International Baccalaureate candidate with high honors. Best Memory of High School:  Senior Class campout on the backfield of Marietta High School Post-graduation plans: Attending University …

Leah Darby, 18 Accomplishments:  International Baccalaureate student; member of International Thespian Society; intern at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre and assisted with Westside Drama Club; Marietta Honor Society Best Memory of High School: Participating in all of the musicals at Marietta High School Post-graduation plans: Attending Winston-Salem State in Winston-Salem, N.C., to study elementary education with a minor in theater. She hopes to become a teacher and eventually for her own children’s theater group. Final thoughts about Marietta High and the Class of 2011: “Our class is very …

Dean Ryan, 18   Accomplishments: Cadet major for Marietta’s Junior ROTC Air Force unit. Completed engineering courses at Marietta High that enable him to complete certification for a summer internship.  Member of varsity swim team. Best Memory of High School: A weeklong field trip with the ROTC unit to Houston. Post-graduation plans: Attending Mississippi State University to study engineering and to be a part of the school’s Army ROTC unit. Final thoughts about Marietta High and the Class of 2011: Dean is impressed by the high level of community involvement in the school and Marietta …

Emmy Rechsteiner, 18 Accomplishments:  Organized the Black and White Affair in February, raising $4,000 for Children’s Healthcare; co-founder of The Charm Closet, in which students collected more than 80 formal dresses for needy students attending prom or homecoming last year; a member of the school’s environmental club; instigator of the Random Chaos Club; and a member of the tennis team for all four years, playing No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles this year. Best Memory of High School: The first-ever Marietta Senior Camp Out on the backfield at the high school campus and efforts of the Random…

Johnell Gipson, 17 Accomplishments: Member of the Marietta High student newspaper, The Pitchfork. Ran track for two years, specializing in the 400m relay. Linebacker for the Marietta High Blue Devils football team all four years. A member of both the Future Business Leaders of America and the Marietta High environmental club. Won the Young Georgia Authors competition last year with his short story, “Inner Beast of Introversion.” Best Memory of High School: Being a part of old and new Marietta High traditions and being a part of great technological changes at the school, such as the new …

Allison Goins, 18 Accomplishments: President of Sisters Together Achieving Real Success (STARS), a community service group; vice president of Marietta High Honor Society; a member of the Spanish Honor Society; took courses in the school’s International Baccalaureate program; and a member of the tennis team. Best Memory of High School: Proud of STARS reading program to encourage students at Dunleith Elementary School to succeed. Post-graduation Plans: Attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study chemistry and complete a pre-medicine program. Final thoughts about Marietta High and…

Parks Brown, 18 Accomplishments: A full candidate for the International Baccalaureate diploma. Captain of the varsity golf team for three years, which included a fourth place finish in the regions. Member of the Beta Club for maintaining a 3.5 grade point average or better during his junior and senior years. Best Memory of High School: Earning a Senior Superlative as Wittiest in the Class of 2011. (Parks loves anything on Saturday Night Live or with Will Ferrell.) Post-graduation plans: Attending Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., to study business management with a minor in psychology …

Rho Zeta Omega, a local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority over the weekend awarded $15,000 to 11 Cobb County seniors as part of the organization's annual scholarship reception. The awards, presented Saturday at the Home Depot Support Center, were made in conjunction with The PEARL Foundation. Mariah Nuckles of Osborne High School and T'Keyah Duke and Elizabeth Cleaver, both of Marietta High School, were among the 11 young women who earned the scholarships. The scholarship program is part of the Alpha Kappa Alpha legacy of providing financial assistance to young women who wish to pursue a …

Seven Dowell Elementary students and their teachers leave for the 2011 World Finals of Odyssey of the Mind at the end of the month. The reality of their accomplishment—scoring a second place finish that earned them the trip—had not quite set in. After all, of the 10 elementary teams Georgia will send to the World Finals, eight originated from private schools and the ninth came from East Cobb. The final team came from unheralded Dowell Elementary School, a Title 1 school in West Cobb. “Nothing like this has ever happened at Dowell,” says Tamela Isley, a gifted teacher at the school and a …

Educators from Marietta High School, Marietta Middle School and Marietta Sixth Grade Academy all came together on Tuesday with Marietta Mentoring for Leadership on a mission to guide youth in a positive direction. The event: the First Annual Young Men's Leadership conference with the theme "Empowerment for the Journey.” About 30 young men joined the program, chosen due to their at-risk status AND their leadership potential and at risk potential. Through the program, the students engaged in breakout sessions with titles such as “How Do I Learn,” “Creative Coping Skills,” “Anti-Bullying”and “…

Name: Shifra Erez Age: 17 School: Marietta High School Accomplishment: Earning a coveted "STAR" award from the Marietta Kiwanis Club for earning the highest SAT score—2270 out of 2400—among her graduating class at Marietta High and maintaining a class ranking in the Top 10 percent.   Academics aside, Shifra has developed a well-rounded four years at Marietta, serving as a member of the school's Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society and as president of the school Recycling Club. A choral student through all four years, she is also a founding member of the Blue …

Akeia Miles remembers her first week wrestling. She was a sophomore at Marietta High School, having deciding to try out for the wrestling team. To see if she was serious, the coaches paired her with classmate Ardon Smith, one of the tougher wrestlers on the Blue Devils’ team. “I remember pain,” she said. “Ardon was tough.” But Miles stuck with it. It wasn’t like this was new to her. She grew up scrapping with her male cousins close to her age. When the week-long test was over, Marietta coach Tommy Carthers wondered if Miles would continue to wrestle. She did. And she brought a new pair of …

Marietta High School’s Reading Bowl team returned home from Athens this weekend after successfully defending its state Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl championship by besting every team it faced this year. So it’s hard to believe that there was a moment of major tension in the regional competition in early February… so much so that the team feared it might not even advance to the next level. And this was a team that had not given up a single round in any of its matches this year… not a one. Because of the point system at regionals held at University of West Georgia, Sprayberry High School managed …

Name: Grant Deedy Age: 17 School: The Walker School Accomplishment: Nabbing that perfect score on a college entrance examination is a rarity, but Grant Deedy, a senior at The Walker School, scored a perfect composite "36" when he took the ACT on Sept. 11, 2010. Grant admits that he actually missed a single mathematics question but because the testing company rounds the scores from four different sections-math, English, reading and science-his composite score registered as a 36. "I still wonder what the one question was," he said. In addition to his academic achievements, Grant plays center …