Schools
Affton Senior Is Remembered at Graduation
Affton High School stops for a moment of silence during graduation in memory of a student who should have been walking with the class.
Affton school officials and seniors observed a moment of silence at Friday's graduation ceremony for a senior who was found
Emily Dreiman, 18, was found dead Friday morning along with three other family members. She was supposed to receive her diploma Friday from Affton High School.
Commencement exercises went on as scheduled for the evening, and at the beginning of the ceremony, a special moment of silence was held to pay tribute to Emily.
Find out what's happening in Affton-Shrewsburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Affton High School principal, Susan Jackson, spoke of Emily’s struggle with her grades early on, and the hard work she put in to push ahead and graduate with her class.
“She achieved that goal and at this time, we’d like to honor her accomplishment with a moment of silence,” Jackson said.
Find out what's happening in Affton-Shrewsburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Affton High School English teacher, Brian Jennings, spoke of Emily in his remarks to the graduating class. He told the students he would not address them as graduates, because they had not yet received their diplomas. He said he would, however, call them grads, meaning “one who goes.”
“[Emily] was constantly engaged, she was involved with extracurricular events, and in that way she was one who goes,” Jennings said. “She was a graduate, and I’m proud to say Emily Dreiman is, was and always will be a graduate of Affton.”
During the awarding of diplomas, Emily’s name was called, receiving intense applause.
Her classmates and friends remember her as a kind and bright person.
“She was really nice,” said class salutatorian Abigail Pavlich. “I was close to her in grade school when we were in Girl Scouts together. "We haven’t been close in high school, but she would still always say hello in the hallways. She was just a nice person.”
Jadah Petford, a classmate said: “Emily was great. She was never mean to anyone, ever."
“Emily was such a hard worker,” said her friend Salil Valiaparampil. “When she fell behind, she worked so hard to catch up and graduate with our class. She was nice to everyone and easy to talk to. She always had a smile on her face.”