The 53 members of the Class of 2012, the 42nd graduating class, joined the 2,049 people who count themselves among the ranks of Wilson Hall’s alumni. Merit-based scholarships, valued at $4.7 million, were awarded to 94% of the graduates. The scholarships include two National Merit Scholarships, 15 full academic scholarships, 18 half academic scholarships, four Palmetto Fellow Scholarships and 39 Life Scholarships.
The average SAT score for the top 25% of the class is 1324, with a high score of 1540, and the average score for the entire class, with all seniors taking the SAT, is 1156. Ninety-two percent of the graduates took at least one Advanced Placement course, with many taking six or more, and were eligible to receive college credit.
Every member of the class gained acceptance to a four-year college or university. In addition to all of the major South Carolina institutions, students were accepted to a wide variety of schools such as the Air Force Academy, Cornell, Duke, Georgia Tech, the Naval Academy, Penn State, Purdue, Virginia, Wake Forest, West Point and William & Mary.
Four graduates signed national letters of intent to compete athletically at the collegiate level, and the Class of ’12 had the top male and female scholar/athlete in the S.C. Independent School Assoc., the first time both recipients of the award attended the same school. The recent graduates were members of teams that won state championships in baseball, boys bowling, boys track and girls track.
Members of the Class of ’12 contributed to the school newspaper which was named the Best in State, performed with the high school drama team that won the state competition, and competed on the state champion academic team. They also won the top awards in the state for art, literary meet and journalism competitions. The class volunteered 3,387 hours of community service in twelve months.
At the graduation ceremony held at Patriot Hall on May 31, Valedictorian Holly Avins and Salutatorian Gibson Klapthor delivered their speeches, followed by the keynote speaker, Mr. Keller Kissam, who is the President of the S.C. Independent School Assoc. and President of Operations for S.C. Electric & Gas. Cody Clark was presented the John S. Wilson Award by Mrs. John S. Wilson, and Mr. Fred Moulton, Headmaster, presented the confirmation of the graduates.