The Edgecombe Early College graduation ceremony will not be a "traditional" one, according to school officials.

The Early College's graduation will be 7 p.m. Friday in Edgecombe Community College's Keihin Auditorium.

Other Edgecombe high school graduations will take place the second week of June. Tarboro High and North Edgecombe High ceremonies will take place Friday, June 13 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively. SouthWest Edgecombe High graduation will be Saturday, June 14 at 10 a.m.

One reason the Early College's graduation will be different is because the ceremony is planned to be "very personal," school guidance counselor Pam Gould said.

Seniors requested their guest speakers be two former Early College advisers, she said. Tiffany White and Del Ruff were invited to speak at graduation because, Gould said, the 12 graduating seniors had a lot of input into the preparation of the ceremony.

Another reason the Early College graduation is non-traditional is that younger students also will receive recognition.

Kathy Webb, ECC liaison to the Early College, said that awards will be given to more than a dozen underclassmen Friday night. Two juniors will receive the College Milestone award from ECC President Dr. Deborah Lamm, to show that they have completed half their 65 credit hours for an associate degree.

Ten sophomores will be given On The Right Track awards, which recognize their accelerated progress toward their associate degree.

Also, four Early College students will be inducted into ECC's honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, which recognizes students who have a college GPA of more than 3.5.

Finally, Michael Jordan, ECC's vice president of student services, will surprise one senior with a scholarship to Edgecombe Community College.

"When you've got a small graduating class and a small staff," said Shawna Andrews, Edgecombe Early College's principal, "you really build close relationships with your students."

She said she was honored that the seniors invited her and the rest of the EC staff to the student's bowling and pizza party Thursday after graduation practice.

Andrews laughed after she learned she was invited, and said "for a group of teenagers to invite their instructors, when they're getting ready to leave, that says a lot" about the students.

"A lot of seniors are going to go across that stage and never look back. We are honored that they are inviting us" to their last party as Early College students, Andrews said.