Out of 173,882 candidates, the IB awarded 75,828 diplomas worldwide for the May 2022 session. On Friday, October 28, 2022, Latta High School held a presentation ceremony for Krish Patel, McLain Roberts, and Rainie Stroud to receive their International Baccalaureate Programme diplomas.

These remarkable young people received their diplomas by completing two years of a rigorous, demanding international curriculum. Their course of study included six academic classes in the subject areas of mathematics, language, world language, science, social sciences, and the arts. They also had to complete three additional subjects in the core of IB. The Theory of Knowledge class presents students with the challenge of reflecting on the nature of knowledge. Creativity, Activity, and Service requires students to give back to their local community, and they served many hours as volunteers with varying organizations. The final piece is the Extended Essay, and it is an independent, college-level essay of approximately 4,000 words.
Each student put about forty hours of work into the creation of their Extended Essay, and their topics were wide-ranging and thought-provoking. Krish’s topic was “To what extent did World War II affect the development of weaponry in participating countries?” McLain’s topic was ”To what extent does Shakespeare’s language use and characterization create humor still relevant today?” Rainie’s topic was ”To what extent did the Great Depression affect women and minorities?”
Krish Patel is the son of Bill and Megan Patel, and he is attending the University of South Carolina. He is majoring in Sports Management. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career within the field of sports management. Krish said, “IB prepared me for college/life by allowing me to challenge myself to succeed and further develop certain life skills to a significant extent, such as time management.” Krish admitted that his biggest challenge in completing IB “was trying to balance my academic life with my personal/social life outside of school.” His advice to upcoming IB students is to “develop good time management skills, stay ahead in your classes, and use free time in school to finish assignments.” Good advice!
McLain Roberts is the daughter of Mark and Erika Roberts. She is currently a freshman at the College of Charleston. Although her major is undeclared, she is considering a STEM career. McLain said she hopes to have a career that will allow her “to work from home so I can spend time with my family.” McLain also noted that she learned time management skills in the IB program at Latta High School. “All the studying and having to rely on myself to manage my time served me well in the transition from high school to college.” Her advice to upcoming IB students is “get tomorrow’s work done today so you won’t feel guilty when you have fun.”
Rainie Stroud is the daughter of Freda Moore and Donald Stroud. She is currently a freshman at Francis Marion University and is majoring in sociology and minoring in psychology. She plans to stay at FMU until she completes her masters and eventually become a social worker. Rainie said, “IB prepared me for college life by teaching me that I can do hard things (thanks, Mrs. Roberts!). IB also taught me how to use my time wisely and not procrastinate.” Rainie noted that the biggest challenge she “faced in IB was being able balance the heavier workload with having a job, friends, and family.” Her advice to upcoming IB students is “to always stay ahead of your assignments. Time is your most valuable asset and you should never waste it. Lastly, thank your IB teachers often. Everything they do is for your success, and they deserve all the recognition in the world for what they do for their students.”
While all of the students mentioned learning to balance academics, jobs, friends, and family as a big challenge while they were in the Diploma Programme, they managed to successfully handle the workload as evidenced by the IB Diploma each earned.
Latta High School is very proud of all of our International Baccalaureate Diploma graduates. They join many other Latta High School graduates who distinguished themselves by earning this international recognition. The significant achievements that these young people have already accomplished make us all look forward to seeing what they will do in the future. The staff and faculty would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to our graduates for their willingness to share their life experiences and knowledge with their peers. We look forward to many more years of successful stories told by our International Baccalaureate Diploma graduates.