It's Spring - a time of New Beginnings!
Spring in Louisville is a beautiful time of year. We all remember sitting in classes with the windows open - maybe hearing the kids on the playground at St. Matthews Elementary, waiting for school to be out for the year. Sigh.
Making a surprise appearance recently is the (taxidermied?) wildcat some of you may remember from the trophy cases. Rescued from oblivion by Jennifer Hall ('72). Now safely stored atop the the trophy cases in the Alumni Room.
| | Wildcat mascot returns to the Alumni Room! | | | |
2025 Hall of Fame Selection Underway
The nominations are in and the committee is hard at work reviewing them in order to make the selections.
The HOF Celebration Dinner has been set - Thursday September 18, 2025 at Big Spring Country Club. We encourage anyone and everyone to come celebrate and congratulate this years winners while enjoying a great dinner and great conversation with friends and past winners. Make your reservation here.
| |
2025 WHSAA Scholarship Winners Named
The Scholarship Committee had a tough time selecting this year's winners from over 35 applications! Here are the winners who will be recognized on Senior Awards Day, May 21.
| |
- Chole "Sebastian" Myers
- Nicholas Stephens
- Belinda Bautista
- Lia Rodriguez Espinoza
| |  |
- Deisi Aguilar Catillo
- Jorge Cardenas
- Damaris Olabisi
| | Support these great students (and future recipients) by donating to the WHSAA Scholarships. | |
Football Field Renovation Underway!
Announced in 2023, JCPS is renovating many of the school's football fields, including Waggener's. The renovation includes turf, scoreboard, bleachers, concession and storage building, and other improvements. Should be wrapped up by the first game in the Fall. Stay tuned for an announcement for another Alumni Night at a home football game!
| | Image from Ward Oldham's ('71) awesome drone footage of Waggener | | | |
WHS Commitment To Academy Model Is Paying Off
Waggener is one of the 15 JCPS High Schools using the Academies of Louisville structured approach to preparing students for college and career, and has been since 2017.
-
Post-secondary 'readiness rate' has increased from 30% in 2018 to 79% in 2024
-
WHS is the ONLY school in the state to receive NCAC Model Status Recognition (and all 3 WHS Academies did!)
| | Recruitment Week For Freshman | The Academy Model features the requirement for students to 'tour' the various pathways available to them at Waggener, at the end of their Freshman Academy year. At Waggener there are 8 pathways in the 2 Academies (Health Science + IT and Law). | | | | | These Academies are more than just theory and 'book learning' about specific careers and specialties - but hands-on, real-life experiential learning. Above is the Court Room - built to the exact specifications of Jefferson County Courts, and to the left is the Health Science Lab where students get experience preparing for Sports Medicine, EKG Technician, Pre-Nursing and Biomedical Science. | | |
Retiring Members - After many years of dedicated service to WHSAA, Kristen Heckel ('91) let us know she will be stepping down as WHSAA Secretary after this school year.
Kristen has been an indispensable asset to the Association throughout the years - and as the current Librarian at Waggener, a valuable connection to the school. We will retain that connection, but will lose her diligent skill as Secretary - she will be missed!
From the entire Board and I'm sure all the membership - THANK YOU Kristen!
| | | |
New Members - We've added 2 new Board members in recent months, and very excited to have them. Please help welcome...
Amber Yocum (Class of 2006)
Amber was very active at WHS (girls' basketball manager, NHS President, Pep Club, Beta Club, Chit-Chat, Lair...sheesh!). She now works with JCTC and works closely with JCPS students.
Emma Borders (Class of 1963)
Emma taught junior high school for 12 years, and then ran a local video production company, Copycat Video. She has been very active helping to organize every Reunion for her class, and wanted to offer those organization skills to a broader WHS audience.
| | |
We Need Board Members!
Serving on the WHSAA Board is a great way to honor a beloved institution, serve your fellow classmates, and ensure Waggener students have resources they need to succeed.
We are in an active recruiting period, and are particularly interested in hearing from alumni that represent more recent decades and those from diverse backgrounds.
There are many roles to be filled on a working Board, your skills and energy won't be put to waste!
Reach out here or send any of the current Board Members an email.
| | |
CD, 12mo @4.25% $ 41,800.00 matures June 2025
CD, 6mo @3.50% $ 30,000.00 matures April 2025
| | |
A group of folks from the Class of 1973, and others, have organized and founded a Scholarship, inspired by Susan Lee Campbell, and managed through the Community Foundation of Louisville. Susan graduated in 1973, went on to Wellesley College, then Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine, and was doing work as a Luce Scholar in the mountains of Taiwan. She was aboard the fateful flight of KAL 007, shot down by a Russian fighter killing all aboard.
Details of the scholarship and how to donate can found here.
| | | |
Upcoming Events - School
May 21 - Senior Awards Day
May 22 - Last Day for Students
August 7 - First Day for Students (2025-26)
| | | | Who this newsletter was sent to | | The membership of 'the Alumni Association' (WHSAA, Inc.) is separate from the subscribed emails to this newsletter. There were some email addresses of current WHSAA Members that were not subscribed to this newsletter, so liberty was taken to add those email addresses to this newsletter list, under the assumption that if you are a WHSAA member, you'd like to receive this newsletter. On that note, receiving this newsletter does not necessarily mean that you are a WHSAA member. To check your WHSAA membership, or to join, click below. | | | | |
