Class of 2017 graduates from NHS

By Staff, 05/12/17 10:31 AM

NHS GRADUATION 039

ROSSTON – Twenty-seven seniors entered the Nevada gym Thursday night, and 27 graduates exited.

The Class of 2017 graduated from Nevada High School Thursday with the gym filled with family and friends, all eager to watch these young people take the next step in their lives.

Michael Odom, Nevada principal, welcomed everyone and recognized the accomplishments of this class. He said this group received more than $250,000 in scholarship money. He thanked the parents for entrusting their children’s education to the district.

Elizabeth Lafferty provided the first honors address. She said graduation is harder than she thought because it’s difficult to say goodbye to people she’s been around all her life. “We’ve been through a lot together,” she said. “It’ll be impossible to say goodbye.”

Jazmine Beasley followed, saying she never thought she’d see this day, but the class made it. “Seems like yesterday we were in kindergarten, wanting to go outside and play kickball. We’re not kids anymore and need to find out place in the world. I couldn’t ask for a better class. Have a great life.”

Lakendria Johnson was next. “I’ve enjoyed my time with this class,” she said. “Time has flown by.” Johnson said the class is opening the door to a new beginning and taking a big step.

Kristin Butler provided the teacher appreciation speech, saying there were times the students resented their teachers because they lived in the here and now. “It was tough them having to deal with us. Teachers tell us where to look, not what to see.”

The parent appreciation speech was given by Katelyn Foster, who said the class needed the parents as they will always be the only people who will always be there for them, no matter what. “As we get ready for the future, we need to thank our first teachers – our parents.”

Next up was the class farewell. Tanner Stone kicked things off telling the audience he’s seen some amazing things while at Nevada, and has seen friends accomplish great things, such as receiving scholarships. Some, he said, will achieve on the national stage. “We’ve been at a little school in a little community, now we’re going out into the vast world. We feel on top of the world as we go our separate ways, but we will fall down. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom to find the foundation of our dreams. We will succeed. This is our time, our lives, let’s make it great.”

Olivia King followed, saying the class had a lot of ups and downs, and not every class can say they’ve endured what this one did. “It’s made us strong,” she said, “a family. Thanks for the memories. We all need to remember the ABC’s of life.” King recited what each letter of the alphabet should mean to the class as adults and throughout their lives. “We are the future and need to live like there’s no tomorrow.”

“In elementary school,” Samantha Pipkin said, “we looked up to the seniors. Today we are those seniors. I never thought this day would come. We overcame our grudges and drew together. Family doesn’t have to be blood. Keep your head up and don’t be afraid to speak up. We will do great.” No dream, she continued, is too big for the NHS Class of ’17, but she urged the class to set goals and dream like there’s no tomorrow. Pipkin challenged the junior class to let go of their grudges and treasure their classmates.

Superintendent Rick McAfee provided the administrative address, saying it would be tough to follow the graduates. “This group has done an amazing job for the last 13 years.” This class, he continued, has learned, shared and came to love one another and not be afraid to reach out for inspiration.

“They’re beginning a new chapter in their lives and need to realize they’ll make changes to the world we left them. There’s a lot of strife and complications today they’ll have to straighten out, but they can. I’ve seen great progress from them and they’ll do great things, things we can’t imagine.”

 

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