Blue skies for the Owen High School class of 2022

Graduation ceremony fills Warhorse Stadium with pomp, circumstance and emotion

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
June 11, 2022

The sky above Warhorse Stadium, June 11, was bright blue, as the Owen High School class of 2022 descended down the bleacher steps to the field below.

The unobstructed sunshine illuminated the lush green mountains surrounding the campus and reflected off the tears of the administration, faculty, families and community members who came to watch 127 seniors walk across the stage, and into the next chapter of their lives.

Principal Meg Turner, who is stepping down after 11 years in the position, congratulated the graduates and commended them for their perseverance through the many challenges they faced in recent years. As she addressed students, parents and staff for the last time, Turner emphasized the school’s role as the Swannanoa Valley’s high school, and recognized the large number of alumni in attendance.

The keynote speaker for the commencement ceremony was Jack McMahan, a longtime Owen Middle School teacher who has become a regular substitute at the high school since his retirement. McMahan’s son, Bradley, an assistant principal at the high school, will take over as the principal of OMS next year.

The elder McMahan encouraged the graduates to become the next “giants” of the Swannanoa Valley.

“The first class of Owen High School graduated in 1955, when superintendent T.C. Roberson consolidated Buncombe County’s numerous high schools,” he said. “The evidence is there, in those 67 years, that your class will stand among the top.”

Jack reminded the crowd of the obstacles they overcame to graduate.

“The class of 2022 started school in the depths of the Great Recession, when families throughout the Swannanoa Valley were losing their jobs and homes, and there were worries of another Great Depression,” he said. “Through elementary school and middle school, this class has seen cultural shifts and social changes. Our political divisions are the greatest they’ve been since the Civil War. They’re ending their K-12 education with a pandemic.”

Student speaker Daniela Mejia-Chavez received a warm ovation when she introduced herself.

“I am an 18-year-old Mexican-American first generation graduate,” she said, before the crowd erupted in applause. Her speech recalled her journey to graduation day, including her decision to return to the U.S. without her parents, in 2019, after living for 10 years in Mexico.

“My mother taught me to never get carried away by what other people might say,” an emotional Mejia-Chavez said. “She knew that being here would be difficult.”

She concluded her speech by encouraging fellow graduates to be role models for future generations, and thanked her family for their continuous support.

Valedictorian Bailey Mundy reflected on the realization that longtime classmates would no longer see each other daily.

“You should all be very proud,” she said. “Thank you classmates and teachers for some of the best years of my life. Each of you have positively impacted me in some way.”

She encouraged undergraduates not to rush, and to “take it all in.”

“It’s time to make new memories, new friends and new goals,” Mundy said. “You have all become a big family to me, and I want you all to know that I’m always going to talk to any of you, no matter if it’s tomorrow or years from now.”

She closed her speech with one final show of school spirit.

“Good luck, and go Warhorses!” Mundy said.

Photos of the 2022 Owen High School Graduation can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.