One Opp High School graduate who walked across stage Thursday night is already making history.

Dalis Smith, who has been the person behind Opp High School’s “Opie” for the last four years, will get to be the soul inside the Huntingdon College mascot – the school’s first-ever official mascot.

“At first I really wasn’t going to do it,” Smith said of becoming Opie. “I missed a meeting and they weren’t going to let me try out, but my mom was able to convince them to let me.”

Smith said becoming Opie is undoubtedly the paramount thing she has ever done.

“It made my whole high school experience 10 times better,” she said.

Smith said she wanted to become Opie because she’s a naturally outgoing person, and her extrovertedness led people to encourage her.

“People always told me that I should be Opie,” she said. “They would say, ‘This is for you.’ I realized this was for me.”

Smith said she enjoys making people laugh.

“I like seeing joy on little kids’ faces,” she said. “And promoting school spirit.”

Smith was on two state championship cheerleader squads and two state runner-up squads.

“Mrs. (Lorrie) Harrison helped me out,” she said. “Over the years she’s watched me mature.”

Smith said she found out about the Huntingdon opportunity through Haley Kilcrease, who is the recruiter for the area.

“My mom was talking to her about how I was the mascot and how I would love to do it,” she said. “It had always been a volunteer. I had been in communication with the coach about doing it. They came down here and talked to Ms. Harrison and I guess she said some great things about me.”

Smith said Huntingdon College hasn’t had a football program for that long and she hopes to make the mascot something it has never been.

She said she received tremendous support from her OHS cheerleading team.

“It has been a blessing,” she said. “They helped my decision.”

Smith said she plans to study communication studies at Huntingdon.

“I want to eventually work at Disney World,” she said. “Communication studies will help with that.”