Gwinnett County student Megan Hawes learned from her family the importance of kindness and wanted to do something special for her fellow seniors at Brookwood High School.
Since 2012, the school has encouraged parents and others to write personal notes to their children that they would receive before graduation.
Some students, Hawes discovered, didn’t get a note from their loved ones. Hawes, 17, also a senior at Brookwood, decided to fill that void.
On Wednesday, the near 800 seniors picked up large white envelopes filled with letters and notes from family members and one from Hawes.
Hawes was worried her idea would fall flat. The fear was unwarranted.
Hawes was greeted after graduation rehearsal with hugs and repeated messages of “Thank you Megan.”
“It’s really sweet,” said Victoria Schmitt.
Hawes’ classmates were unaware of her project. Hawes estimated she wrote about five notes a day.
“It was a lot of hand cramps,” said Hawes, who plans to attend Kennesaw State University with dreams of becoming a pilot. “It was a lot of work because there were so many and I wanted to personalize it.”
Hawes began with her friends and for those she didn’t know as well, she included a Harry Potter quote.
Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.
Classmates describe Hawes as soft-spoken and a strong Spanish student. Ryan Johnson has known Hawes since middle school and said she’s always had a “loving spirit.”
“For her to do this is really special,” Johnson said.
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