Clarksburg students gather to remember classmate Emily Peterson

CLARKSBURG, Tenn. — Emily Peterson, a star basketball athlete at Clarksburg School, expected to graduate in May.

In October of last year, Peterson was killed in a car accident.

During the school’s homecoming ceremony, coaches, teammates , and students who knew Peterson shared remarks in remembrance of her legacy, with one of her basketball coaches sharing his memory though a poem.

“I wanted to celebrate Emily’s life as not just as a basketball player, but as a person,” the coach said.

Peterson’s memory and unique personality was felt throughout the community, as her family and classmates recall how she urged others to “be a light.”

“So she was feisty, curly hair, and a little bit tall. This what she looked like the first time I seen her with the ball,” the coach said.

Peterson’s friends and basketball teammates made a petition for Clarksburg’s Board of Education to remember Emily by preserving her jersey and other memorable items in a shadowbox at the school’s gym.

Faculty and students say they will share other memories of her throughout homecoming week.