Waldron Wins Spirit of '68 Award
Jackie Waldron can be tough-as-nails on a basketball court. The Huntington High School senior has all the right moves and a sweet outside shot. But, she is much more than just a star athlete.
During Huntington's senior academic awards night, held earlier this month in the high school auditorium, the teenager earned the Spirit of '68 Award, unique recognition from a class of students graduating during one of the most tumultuous times in America's history.
Huntington's Class of 1968 had quite a senior year. In January the Viet Cong launched the so-called Tet Offensive with a series of surprise attacks throughout South Vietnam, swinging the tide of the Vietnam War's and igniting a change in public opinion about the war in the United States. In February President Lyndon B. Johnson dropped his re-election campaign after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary. In April civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee. In June Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was campaigning for the Democratic Party's nomination for president at the time, was assassinated in Los Angeles just week's before Huntington's 1968 commencement ceremony.
Huntington's Class of 1968 created the Spirit of '68 Award to perpetuate its legacy. "They wanted to acknowledge a student whose description would never include the word 'entitlement;' a student who takes on responsibilities and challenges willingly," said Deborah Mellon, a Huntington social studies teacher who announced this year's award recipient.
"So many times we hear: I have my rights. You can't do that to me. It's not my fault," said Ms. Mellon, a 1970 Huntington graduate. "You will never hear that from this student. For her, as the advertisement says, 'No excuses.' Her ambition and her goals drive her to achieve what she wants and she never has any excuses."
Ms. Waldron is headed to The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She expects to play on the basketball team there. The senior is among the most determined and rugged competitors. She can also be soft-spoken and reserved off the court. The genial teenager will be missed by teachers and Blue Devil coaches next year.