Carrollton High School Class of 2025 graduate Jairus Fortune (left) and rising senior Jake Preston (right) celebrate after graduation.

CARROLLTON, GA — Carrollton High School graduates of the Class of 2025 received more than $35 million in scholarship offers from colleges and universities.

The majority of the awards were offered by educational institutions, but there also were private awards presented by individuals and nonprofit entities, including the Carrollton City Schools Education Foundation.

Though many students earned awards for academic success, five graduates were presented $10,000 from the REACH Scholarship program for their commitment to academic achievement. The REACH Georgia Scholarship program promises students the support they need to graduate from high school and achieve postsecondary success. This year, five recipients will receive $10,000 scholarships to attend a Georgia college or university as a reward for successfully completing the mentoring/support program: Erick Castro, Niyla Denson, Yeilin Maldonado Maldonado, Maylen Reyes Velasquez, and Edelis Varela Maldonado.

CHS emphasizes a focus on academics, arts, and athletics, and has produced a variety of scholarship offers that recognize the outcome of this focus. Five students received significant scholarships for their academic excellence: Tylde Alexander received multiple scholarships to Troy University totaling $120,000; Grady Bush received the Out-of-State Presidential Elite Scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham worth $114,500; Vito Cappiello received the Odyssey Scholarship from the University of Chicago covering $372,000; Presley Mashburn received Jacksonville University’s Academic Scholarship totaling $147,348; and Jacob Ricks received HBCU Week Foundation’s AstraZeneca Scholarship covering $132,000 over four years, to support his education at Howard University.

Of the 418 graduating seniors in the Class of 2025, 85 percent of graduates plan to attend a two–or four-year college, 15 percent will enter the workforce, and 2 percent are enlisting in the military. More than 64 percent of graduates earned credits for accelerated enrollment, including dual enrollment, Advanced Placement, and/or International Baccalaureate. In preparation for their futures, 370 seniors completed career pathways through Career, Technical and Agricultural Education classes.

CHS Principal Ian Lyle congratulated the students on their accomplishments.

“The Class of 2025 leaves an impressive legacy at Carrollton High School,” said Lyle. “I am eager to follow their future journeys and am confident they will continue to make us proud.”