Clarke Central High School Class of 2023 alumna and former CCHS chorus member Courtney Perry (left) and chorus student Azaryah Cornish, a senior (right) sing on the stage of the E.B. Mell Auditorium during the 2023 Black History Month Program on Feb. 28. Cornish has been in the chorus all four years of high school and enjoyed the experience. “Chorus is a really open environment to have fun in. I loosen up with the right people around me and you don’t have to be Beyoncé (or) Whitney Houston – you can (just) sing your heart out,” Cornish said. “There’s been such a judgment-free environment, I feel like anybody should get into it.” Photo by Isabelle Duncan
CCHS students and staff in the chorus program have worked to create a positive environment despite the relatively small number of students in the program.
When fine arts department teacher Shelynn Scott inherited the role of teaching chorus at Clarke Central High School during the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year, she took over a program in transition.
While CCHS chorus enrollment is lower than Scott’s previous programs, Oconee Middle School and Loganville High School, Scott is optimistic about the program’s future.
“Chorus is growing. We’re in a rebuilding kind of mindset right now, rebuilding to how it was when I was here (as a student) and building it into kind of the program I have built in the past,” Scott said. “I’ve come from a middle and high school background, where I had to start from the ground level.”
Despite being in a transitional phase, Scott focuses on creating a sense of community for her students.
“I like it to be a family. Everyone has the same love and treatment, no matter if you’re deemed the best singer. Every kid is my full investment,” Scott said. “(I focus on) making sure that they’re comfortable (exploring) their talents and then also making sure they’re working together.”
“I like it to be a family. Everyone has the same love and treatment, no matter if you’re deemed the best singer. Every kid is my full investment. (I focus on) making sure that they’re comfortable (exploring) their talents and then also making sure they’re working together.”
— Shelynn Scott,
Fine arts department teacher
For senior Azaryah Cornish, who has participated in chorus all four years of high school, the program has provided a space to make new connections with a diverse group of classmates.
“I was able to make very different friends and different races and I enjoyed that. I’m African American, but I love to branch out and see other people from a different point of view and different lifestyles,” Cornish said.
Cornish says participating in the chorus has also offered her and her peers the opportunity to engage in outreach in the CCHS community, including at events like the 2024 Black History Month program in E.B. Mell Auditorium, and farther into the Athens community.
“We went to different places. We went into the community more this year.” Cornish said. “We (visited) the nursing home and elementary schools, and we have so much more coming up. We’re going to be out on graduation, too.”
As she looks ahead to graduation in May, Cornish feels the chorus program, despite its current state of flux, has nonetheless provided her a platform to make a difference.
“I’m just a people person. I love giving back to the community, especially to the elderly or little kids. I just love making somebody else’s day. Knowing I’ve impacted somebody else in a different way makes me happy,” Cornish said. “It makes me feel like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something. I’m making an impact in some way somehow.’”
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