(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) awarded diplomas to five high school seniors in a ceremony at the school May 24.

The graduates, along with their home counties, include:

  • Justin Lee Hedges, Oldham County
  • Elizabeth Ann Stephens, Jefferson County
  • Logan Rovinski, Hardin County
  • Shawn Michael Smith, Marshall County
  • Allison Kate Johnson, Pulaski County

Four of the graduates will be entering the workforce and one plans to volunteer in the community after graduation.

“I am very proud of these students and I commend them on their accomplishments at the Kentucky School for the Blind,” said Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt, who attended the ceremony. “They have persevered to reach their goal and I am confident that the education they received at KSB will serve them well as they begin the next phase of their lives.”

Abigail Cocanougher, a 2003 graduate of KSB who is now a vocational rehabilitation program specialist with the Kentucky Office for the Blind, delivered an inspiring speech to the graduates. Cocanougher, who was KSB valedictorian, went on to graduate summa cum laude from Bellarmine University with a degree in music. She then received a master’s degree in vision rehabilitation therapy from Florida State University.

In addition to Pruitt, Kentucky Board of Education member Milton Seymore and several Department of Education staff members attended the ceremony on the school’s Louisville campus.

A graduation ceremony for KSB’s 8th-grade students was held earlier May 24, and an awards ceremony for elementary school students was held May 23.