The senior class of 2023 has elected head wrestling coach and 11-grade English teacher, Ryan Mallory, as this year’s Central High School dedicatory. The dedicatory is a faculty member who has worked at Central High School for at least ten years and has never been selected as a dedicatory. He/she will be recognized on Senior Day (or Senior Night) at the end of the year.

“I liked school, I had good teachers and coaches who I wanted to be like, who I inspired to be like. I played sports all growing up,” began Mallory, who has been at Central for 10 years this school year. “It was something I enjoyed doing —  not just as a physical outlet– but I learned team building, commitment, hard work, dedication, and perseverance.”

“The thing that ‘makes Central’ is the people,” he explained. “When I got here, we had really good admin and Mr. (Finley) King was really great to work for.”

He added that there are good teachers and students to work with here at Central.

“It’s a very diverse student body here, which I appreciate,” Mallory added.

Mr. Mallory’s believes that his co-workers, administrators, and even his students have a big impact on his staying here and loving to come to work every day.

Being named as the dedicatory was not an accomplishment Mallory takes lightly.

“It is a great honor of which I have waited 10 years to accept this opportunity and I won it first try,” he pointed out.

Selecting them and writing the speech is next in the process for the recipient of the dedicatory. Last year’s dedicatory, Mrs. Mariea Dobbs, selected a “Dr. Seuss” theme.

“I don’t have any big plans yet. I have asked past dedicatories for advice, and they have been very helpful. One is mostly to be myself,” he said. In addition to 11th grade English, Mr. Mallory has also taught Engish 9 and also English 10 and even creative writing.

Mrs. Kara Fannon, who started teaching at Central at the same time as Mr. Mallory, offered her own suggestions about what to write in a speech.

“Think about what you needed to hear as a graduating senior,” she said. “It’s important to think about the transitioning of graduating seniors as we turn to adults being released into the real world, into the working world, and it’s important to hear the realities of what this world will be like for us.”

One senior who did not hesitate to vote for Mr. Mallory as dedicatory was Noah VanHoozier.

“I voted for Mallory because he is one of the best teachers and he is also my wrestling coach, which makes him even better,” he explained. “Mallory is one of the only teachers who has my support 100 percent and I am very excited for him to speak at Senior Day.” 

Senior day will be held in the gym May 11 at 9:30 a.m and senior night will be 6:30 p.m the same day. Graduation will be held on May 19 at 7:30 p.m at the Trade Center.