East Clarendon High School co-valedictorian Flury Wilson told her classmates June 3 during commencement exercises in the school’s gymnasium that most of them had spent 12 full school years together.
“That’s 180 days each year we have spent preparing for, dreading and hoping this day would come sooner,” Wilson said. “Overall, that’s 2,160 days. We came, we saw and we conquered. But we are not done yet.”
Co-valedictorian Tiffany O’Neal said the class has “made memories we will never forget, but we have also learned valuable life lessons along the way.”
“We are about to experience a huge change in our lives,” she said. “While we must always walk our own paths in life, we will certainly never forget the days when we were Wolverines.”
Wilson told her fellow graduates that the date June 3 presented a culmination of the students’ long journey as the Class of 2016.
“We’ve made it through the good times and the bad; the laughs, the stress and the struggle have now passed, and here we are,” she said. “We’ve shaped each other, for better or worse. We’ve come to the final days of walking the hallowed halls of the school that molded the people we’ve become.”
“We’ve made it through the exams, the early mornings and even the constant interrogation of the location of our IDs,” Wilson added. “The athletes have put away their uniforms: There will be no more touchdowns. The last pitch has been thrown. The last race has been run. The last shot has been made, the last point has been scored.”
O’Neal said she and her fellow classmates could not have accomplished the task alone.
“We give thanks to God; God has been so good to us, and He deserves the most thanks,” she said. “To our family, friends and teachers, without your support, this journey would have been even harder to finish. To everyone who has supported us throughout the years, we are grateful to you.”
Wilson said that it will soon make sense to her and her fellow students “why those around us stressed to make the most of every moment of this part of our lives.”
“Soon, we will know these are the moments that we will miss most,” she said. “There comes a comforting security in knowing that East Clarendon will always be a place we can call home.”
Wilson said that consistent relationships with staff, faculty and other students have formed a sense of community.
“But now it’s time to leave that security, consistency and family to go our separate ways,” she said.
Wilson continually told the Class of 2016 that they are not done.
“We are far from done: The fact that we made it here is a testament to our perseverance and our commitment to excellence,” she said. “We need to continue that striving for excellence, whether it’s in owning your own business, creating the laws of our country, teaching the future generations (or) healing the sick.”
Wilson added that “there will come a time when your best is challenged by forces out of your control.”
“This is where you should have a strong courage of conviction; this is when you dig deep, with your shoulders back and head held up and press forward,” Wilson said. “Adversity builds and reveals true character.”
Wilson again said, “We are not done.”
“It is up to us as we charter our courses in life to leave this world better than when we found it,” she said. “You can be the change in the world and shift the atmosphere and pave the ground for those who follow us.”
She challenged those present to “set great examples for those who love us and those who will follow us.” O’Neal did the same.
“As we leave East Clarendon as alumni, we must realize the future is in our hands,” she said. “Each of us will go out and live up to our greatest potential. We can always do great things if we set our minds to it.”
Wilson agreed.
“Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘Do not go where my path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail,’” Wilson quoted. “Let us leave a trail for others that they will be proud to follow. No, our job is not done. This is just the beginning.”
