Cara Seckman’s Legacy

One of the benches outside the front entrance to the school has the name Cara McKim Seckman, Class of 2015, carved on the top two slats of the bench. The next two phrases, “Be True to Yourself” and “Go With the Flow” were two of Cara’s favorite sayings. Everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Cara and the honor of calling her a friend understands the meaning of these words. Cara was always true to her beliefs and never went along with the crowd if it was not for something in which she believed. She was even kneeled and believed in going with the flow and not making waves without there being a just cause.

Cara Seckman was a competition cheerleader for four years and was awarded the Ideal Cheerleader Award her senior year. This award speaks to who Cara was and how those two phrases encompassed her beliefs. The Ideal Cheerleader Award was voted on by her peers, who saw Cara as an example of what every young woman her age strives to be. She was a quiet leader who inspired those around her in every aspect of her life. Cara was a member of the National Honor Society and various other clubs at Walton.

Just a few weeks before graduation, Cara became ill. The diagnosis was HLH, a blood cancer that affects young people. Cara was too sick to attend her graduation, but her friends in the class of 2015 left her seat vacant for her and honored her that day. Cara passed away shortly after that. Because of the tremendous impact Cara had on those around her, Cara’s friends wanted to do something that would leave a lasting impression on the students who followed. They decided to raise money to build a bench in her honor. Before the new school was built, the bench sat inside the old building where students could hang out and wait for their parents. When the new building opened, the bench was placed, as was always the intention, outside the front doors. The dedication of the bench was August 6, 2017.

Christina Diaz: Celebrating a Legacy

There is a bench in front of Walton dedicated to Christina Diaz that reads “dwell on the beauty of life,” and anyone at Walton High School who knew her, knew that this was truly the way she lived. Through her entire battle with cancer, she demonstrated that cancer was not going to steal her love for life and her positive outlook. She continued to be positive and full of grace, continued to create lasting memories, or, as she put it, continued to feel “the real stuff.”

Christina came to Walton in 2002, and, except for the 2010-2011 school year, she worked for Walton until 2017. In that one extraneous year she had gone to another school to teach, and although she enjoyed that school, she knew she would go back to Walton as soon as she could, because Walton was her “home.” Both in her classroom and in her daily life, she was the definition of positivity, passion, and love. Affectionately called “Ms. Positiva” by her colleagues and all who knew her, she would even begin every semester by telling her students how important it is to stay positive!

For several years, Christina chaperoned Walton Spain trips, and she continued to encourage students to continue traveling and exploring the world because she was passionate about the life lessons that traveling teaches. After she passed, the Christina Diaz Memorial Scholarship was created at Walton, which awards $1000 each year to a student participating in an international school trip.

Christina’s Walton family consists of an enormous group of people that loved and adored her. Here are quotes from just a few of the many teachers who loved her dearly:

The smile at the end of C-Hall, the twinkle in those blue eyes, my Spain roomie with a heart as big as the universe.
A better friend would be hard to find. She lived life to the fullest and inspired those around her to do the same. Her love for everyone and everything around her was infectious.
She had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know.
Her kindness and thoughtfulness knew no bounds.
Christina was always the breath of fresh air in difficult meetings.
I miss her energy and zest for life! I miss her walking down the hall and peeking into my classroom saying “Besitos,” “It’s all good,” or “Stay positive!”
In health, illness, and now as our angel, she teaches us how to live wholeheartedly with no regrets. What a joy it was just to watch her live.

Christina’s positivity, passion and love were her constant driving force. After her terrible disease forced her out of her classroom, she continued to teach us many life lessons until the very end of her life, constantly reminding everyone of her motto: “Life is short. Take the trip. Buy the Shoes. Eat the cake.” After she passed, during her memorial service, her husband delivered a message Christina had prepared for all of her friends and family: “Look up and not down. Look forward and not back, and lend a hand. Stay positive and love life.” Her spirit and her legacy will live on through her family, her friends, her community, and Walton High School. Her Walton family feels so incredibly blessed to have known such an amazing person.

The Legacy of Hugh McLeod and his family

Dr McLeod, the Team Physician

Walton High School is very fortunate to have had a relationship with Dr. Hugh McLeod and his family that started in 1982 and continues to impact our students and staff to this date. The Foundation will be providing 4 articles over the next few weeks so that all of our students and families can appreciate the McLeods’ contribution to our community.

Part 1: Dr. McLeod, the team physician.

In 1982, after completing an orthopaedic co-joint reconstruction fellowship in England, Hugh McLeod and his wife came to Marietta to set up his practice and their lives in east Cobb. As an athlete and an orthopedist, Dr. McLeod knew the importance of strength and conditioning for student athletes. As a college baseball player at Ole Miss that went to the 1972 World Series, Dr. McLeod wanted Walton athletes to receive the same services he received as a college athlete. He brought this concept to Walton’s principal, Tony Arasi, who was very receptive to this idea.

During the early years, Dr. McLeod was on the sidelines for every Walton football game. He knew that all of our sports and athletes deserved his support and services. But, there were not enough hours in his day to allow one man to provide these services. He began working with Walton’s coaches to provide strength and conditioning instruction to prevent injuries to Walton’s athletes. He also invested his own money to purchase tables and equipment to help improve the care provided. He worked closely with Walton’s sports trainer and paid for a student trainer to help increase the number of sports covered under his supervision. Dr. McLeod’s efforts to provide support to a local high school and try to reduce sports related injuries was a new concept in Cobb County. And, this was just the first phase of Dr. McLeod’s generosity and legacy at Walton.

The Hugh McLeod Sports Medicine Program

Dr. McLeod continued his work with Walton’s coaches, trainers and volunteers to create the first high school based Sports Medicine program in Georgia. The goal of the program was three-fold. The first goal was to provide immediate treatment to sports related injuries which lessens rehab time. Secondly, it would provide educational training to high school students in basic sports medicine knowledge and skills. This provided an educational track and experience for students interested in this field. It also helped provide additional support to the Walton sports trainers. Thirdly, the program wanted to establish injury prevention measures for Walton’s athletes to keep them as healthy as possible. Over the years, a program that began as a service for Walton’s football program is now a service for every athlete at Walton.

In deference to Dr. McLeod’s contributions and dedication to the Walton Sports Medicine Program, the program was re-named the Hugh McLeod MD Wellness Complex and Sports Medicine Center in 2001. He and his family initiated our current relationship with Northside Hospital which has enhanced the Sports Medicine Program at Walton over the years with additional trainers and equipment.

Dr. McLeod supported Walton until he lost his battle with Leukemia on September 30, 2011.

With his passing, his wife, Leslie, and their daughter, Lauren, chose to celebrate Dr. McLeod’s life in Raider Valley. They established funding for the Hugh McLeod Wellness and Sports Medicine Program. In Dr. McLeod’s absence, Leslie and Lauren McLeod Hodges have continued to honor their husband and father’s work by supporting Walton High School.

The Hugh McLeod Garden

Because the health and well-being of the students at Walton High School was a priority for Hugh McLeod, Leslie and Lauren McLeod decided to create a Legacy Garden for him at Walton. This was a very generous gift to our campus. The original garden was placed in a wooded area beside the old softball fields on the Walton campus. The garden offered students, staff and community members a quiet place to reflect and enjoy nature’s beauty on Walton’s grounds. It was dedicated in the fall of 2012 and was a peaceful respite for our community with a waterscape, Japanese maple trees, indigenous plants, benches and sculptures.

When the construction of the new Walton school building was planned, Walton’s administration worked with Cobb County SPLOST leaders to ensure that the elements of the garden would be preserved during construction and relocated to a new location on our current campus. The new Hugh McLeod Garden is housed adjacent to the Dining Hall outdoor seating. It is used by students and staff daily. The white pergola, graceful Japanese maples, flowers and benches provide a beautiful spot for our students to enjoy on a daily basis.

The Walton High School Foundation currently supports the maintenance of the Hugh McLeod Garden with mulch, the planting of annual flowers and general upkeep.

The McLeod Family’s Gifts to Walton

It’s almost been ten (10) years since Dr. Hugh McLeod’s death and his family continues to honor his work and values through Walton High School.

Anyone who enters Walton’s front office is sure to notice the striking painting of the American Flag by Steve Penley. Mrs. McLeod and her daughter, Lauren, donated that painting to Walton in Hugh’s honor. Dr. McLeod loved this country and Walton High School. His family felt this painting was symbolic of two of Dr. McLeod’s passions and wanted it to hang in the new Walton School building.

Leslie McLeod finished serving on the Walton High School Governance Board for the Charter in May 2020. She has donated all of the shadowboxes to the Dr. Hugh McLeod Sports Medicine Center from his collection of unique and antique medical equipment/protheses used in orthopaedics.

Most recently she made a large donation to the Walton High School Foundation so that she could continue supporting the Wellness aspect of Dr. McLeod’s vision. Mrs. McLeod earmarked the donation for the purchase of exercise equipment for Walton’s staff. She hopes that having equipment available to our staff on campus will help them focus on their health and well-being while giving them a convenient outlet for exercise.

We began this series of articles on Dr. McLeod and his family stating how fortunate the Walton community has been and still is for this relationship. Our gratitude for their contributions, vision and love of our school is unmeasurable.

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Celebrating Legacies