Miss Destin’s primary duty is to serve during the month-long October Destin Fishing Rodeo as well as an ambassador for the city throughout the year.
“I feel like I have dreamed of this after seeing the first Miss Destin. It’s always been a dream,” Sparks said just moments after being crowned Saturday night.
“When I found out I was going to be staying here another year, it was a no-brainer to try out again,” Sparks said.
Sparks, a senior at Niceville High School, plans to attend Northwest Florida State College next year and then later transfer to the University of Florida in Gainesville.
NICEVILLE It’s normal to celebrate your last day of high school as the culmination of 12 years of cafeteria lunches, pop quizzes and finals.
Laurel Wentworth, a Niceville High School student, took five AP classes her senior year, started the Alaqua Club to support the Alaqua Animal Refuge in Freeport and was accepted into the University of Florida; she certainly had plenty to celebrate.
But when Laurel pulled up in a blue Chevy Equinox for her final day Friday morning, there was a celebration waiting for her on the front steps at the entrance.
Principal Charlie Marello, her parents Pam and Mike Wentworth, and a cluster of peers stood outside cheering and holding up posters with the number 2,340.
CTE has programs in both middle and high school students, offering classes in careers ranging from engineering and information technology to health science and the hospitality industry.
“It’s all about preparing our students for the workforce,” said CTE Program Director April Branscome. “Whether they’re going to go to college, whether they’re going to go to the military or straight into the workforce, we’re giving them skills that will make them successful.”
This year’s group included students from Crestview, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach and Choctawhatchee high schools who signed “certificates of intent” for the careers they are pursuing.