Norris twins graduate as Class of 2023 Valedictorian and Salutatorian

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Jami Norris and Jessi Norris, twin daughters of James and Tori Norris, will graduate as Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the 2023 Class at East Laurens High School. They are the granddaughters of Melinda Claxton Boulineau and the late Larry Boulineau of Kite and Annelle Page Norris and the late Harmon Norris of Kite. Maternal great-grandparents are Dock and Shirley Claxton.

As Valedictorian, Jami, maintained the highest academic average of the class. While in high school, she competed on the Golf Team all four years and ran Cross Country during her sophomore year. She qualified and competed in State Cross County and Golf every year she competed. She was a member of Skills USA, Beta, Tomb Society, Interact, and TSA. She served as Secretary for Skills USA for two years and treasurer and vice president of Beta. She was President of the Student Council and Beta during her senior year. She was selected to participate in Laurens Youth Leadership and served on the Citizens Bank Youth Council. She has received the Pilot Club of Dublin Rachel Frederick Friendship and Service Scholarship, the East Laurens High School Rachel Fredrick Scholarship, the National Beta Scholarship, the Jefferson Energy Cooperation Foundation Scholarship, the Dublin Service League Scholarship, the Dublin Civitan Club Scholarship, and the Georgia Mining Foundation At-large Scholarship. Jami was the Rotary Student of the Quarter and Laurens Youth of the Year finalist. She will also graduate June 10, 2023, from Georgia Military College with her Asociate Degree of Science in General Studies. She has been accepted to the University of Georgia and plans to pursue a degree in biology, pre-medicine. Jami said, “I do not want to go through life just saying I participated. I want to know that I have impacted lives and made a difference.”

Salutatorian, Jessi Norris, was elected as Secretary and Vice-President of Beta Club during her high school career. She was Vice-President for two years of Skills USA, Vice President of Student Council for one year, Vice President of Tomb Society for one-year, active member of the Interact Club for four years, and was an active member of Technology Student Association (TSA) for four years. Jessi was named as having the highest grade point average in Honors Economics during her senior year. She was on the Varsity Golf Team for four years and competed in Cross Country for one year. She qualified and competed in State Cross County and Golf every year she competed. During her junior year, she participated in Laurens Youth Leadership. As a senior, she was chosen to serve on the Citizens Bank Youth Council. She was named Rotary Club Student of the Quarter and Laurens Youth of the Year finalist. She received the Pilot Club of Dublin Rachel Frederick Friendship and Service Scholarship, the East Laurens High School Rachel Fredrick Scholarship, the Chuck Harwell Foundation Scholarship, the Dublin Women’s League Scholarship, the Jefferson Energy Cooperation Foundation Scholarship, and the Dublin Service League Scholarship. Jessi will also earn her Asociate Degree of Science in General Studies from Georgia Military College in June. She will enter the University of Georgia this fall to pursue a degree in Biological Engineering. As Jessi reflected on her four years of high school, she shared, “It was sometimes a struggle to balance all my activities. However, it was worth the effort. I loved being busy and feeling accomplished.”

The Norris Twins have both been involved in the Kite First Baptist Church Youth Group. They are Four-Year Falcon Elite recipients. They have also been involved in countless hours of community service projects including Local Disaster Relief Community Projects, Operation Christmas Child, Night to Shine, Laurens Co Pop Up Literacy Events, East Laurens (EL) News Crew, EL Elementary Field Day, EL Elementary Color Run, Countless Community Fund Raisers, Covid Relief Mask Making and Thank You card writing, Fairview Park Hospital Volunteer Program, Scott Health and Rehab Service Projects, Salvation Army Christmas Volunteers, and EL Special Education Scavenger Hunts.