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Courtlin Arrington

Age 17

Birmingham, Alabama

Acceptance letters she would never see

She had her pick of colleges.

The Huffman High School student planned on becoming a nurse. She was always taking care of other people, according to her mother, including her brother and sister, who attended school with her.

On March 7, 2018, Courtlin Arrington, 17, was shot and killed while sitting in class in Birmingham, Alabama. At what would have been her high school graduation, classmates set up an empty chair with a graduation cap and robe in her honor.

The acceptance letters kept coming in.

By Sarah Emily Baum · Age 18
Meet the Reporters

More than 40 college-bound seniors

Joe Acosta

Forced to leave his little girl

Casey Nicole Kizer

A summer of softball, the lake

James Garrett

He wanted to be a teacher

Colton J. Jensen

He planned to ride the rodeo

Trevon Fareed Richardson

College, football, a scholarship. All lost.

Nicholas Dworet

Diving into the hearts of many

Chris Thomas Mosley

The future was all planned out

Katlyn Michelle Wittcop

Aspiring doctor hoped to fight cancer

Javonne Micheal Jaylin Luke Davis

He’d just received a way out

Britney Malone

Upward bound, she never stopped striving

Yajaira Garcia

Getting an education in Yajaira’s honor

Caleb Kendall Bowman

Shot down by his best friend

Ta Quan Pinkney

Bright future; gone too soon

Carmen Marie Schentrup

A mind to be reckoned with

Jairo Rodriguez

Studying for future he never saw

Brandon Nash Hammett

‘The music master’ killed before college

Favian Isiah Carrillo Duran

Respectful, shy teen did grandma’s chores

Steven J. Scott

Thanksgiving favorites: baked mac and ham

NeQuacia Porsha Jacobs-Lewis

High school graduation, diploma, career — gone

DeVaughn Lorenz Perkins

Gone, but remembered by family forever