GLOW Academy’s Senior Class Celebrates Decision Day
On a warm May morning, all the middle school students, freshman, sophomores and juniors at the Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW Academy) lined the grassy quad between buildings. An emcee hyped them up through the loudspeaker, preparing them to cheer on this year’s seniors as they walked past to stand in front of the crowd of students, parents, staff, and community representatives.
Crowd cheers as they watch GLOW's seniors during Decision Day event. Alex Granados/NCSEAA
Families and friends yelled as the seniors strode by -- dancing, waving their hands in the air -- and gathered at the front of the quad. There the seniors stood, smiles on their faces, some with tears in their eyes, sweatshirts zipped up, awaiting a countdown to reveal their post-graduation choice.
GLOW Seniors prepare to take off sweatshirts and reveal what colleges they will attend. Alex Granados/NCSEAA
After a count of five, confetti exploded in the air, and the students removed their sweatshirts, revealing t-shirts with the names of the colleges they will be attending next fall. The crowd went wild.
GLOW Seniors take off sweatshirts and reveal what colleges they will attend. Alex Granados/NCSEAA
Thus, started Decision Day 2025 at the all-girls GLOW Academy, the only public charter school of its kind in the state.
The graduating class of 2025 included 23 seniors, all of whom applied and were accepted to college. Collectively, they received acceptance to 67 different colleges and received $3,428,008 dollars in merit scholarships -- the highest for any of the school’s graduating classes, even the initial class of 2023 which had twice as many graduates.
This year’s event was the third annual. Todd Godbey, the CEO of Beacon Education, the non-profit that supports GLOW, said Decision Day was an event planned early on in the school’s development as a way of highlighting the intention behind the school.
Two GLOW seniors embrace during the awards ceremony after Decision Day event. Alex Granados/NCSEAA
“The school was built to create opportunity for kids who didn’t have it before, so this celebration is one that is the culmination of a ton of work,” he said. “And it’s a way for us to really celebrate this idea of making this transition in a bold way from secondary to college.”
For Azalea Carter, a senior at GLOW who will be attending North Carolina A&T in the fall on a full tuition scholarship, it was a day of surprises. In a ceremony after the decision day gathering, she received multiple awards and recognitions from the school for her achievements.
“I didn’t think I’d be someone to get so many awards,” she said. “I like today because it just reminds me that all the hard work I did came to fruition.”
After the seniors revealed their school t-shirts, they walked one-by-one up onto a podium, where they told the crowd what school they would be going to in the fall. Then, before leaving the stage, they rang a bell.
GLOW senior announces where she will attend college in the fall. Alex Granados/NCSEAA
GLOW senior rings the bell after announcing where she will go to college in the fall. Alex Granados/NCSEAA
After the bell ringing, Kate Tayloe, principal of GLOW Academy, gave the students advice she once received. She told them that you are always either running from something or running to something. But she said the person who gave her the advice “said that there’s always something that’s a little bit sweeter when you’re running in the direction of something.”
She told the students: “You are running towards your future, what you imagine for your future, and that may change a little bit, but that’s OK, too.”
Jahleese Hadley, director of college access for the school said that the students at GLOW start thinking and planning for college and the application process way back in the 6th grade. A lot of thought goes into working towards that future, so the Decision Day event is a way to celebrate and commemorate all that effort.
“For our younger students, it’s significant because they really don’t get to see this process up close, but we want to build excitement even at their young ages around what’s to come at GLOW, and then what’s beyond high school,” she said.
Brittany Privott, a College for North Carolina (CFNC) associate outreach director who covers the region of the state housing GLOW, attended Decision Day this year for the second time. She said she enjoys it for many reasons, including just how rare a community the school is: all-girls, public, and college focused.
“It’s really nice to see students, when I work with them from freshman year, walk across that stage and ring that bell with a decision that you know is an informed decision because of all the support they get here at GLOW,” she said. “I think days like this help them see that life goes on after high school, and it’s a reward for all the stuff that they’ve gone through.”
As the seniors of GLOW look toward their future, it’s not too late for you to start thinking about yours. You can go to cfnc.org and see how to start planning for your future now.