Allen County-Scottsville High School handed out diplomas to 211 seniors Friday, May 19 at the 43rd commencement service to complete the 2016-17 school year. The evening also included the announcement of the Class of 2017 valedictorian and salutatorian, special music, and special remarks.
Earning valediction honors was Wesley Fisher, the 18-year son of Ricky and Shannon Fisher. Class salutatorian was Derek Taylor, the 17-year old son of Lorinda Taylor and Frank Taylor.
In his remarks, Fisher offered a few suggestions to his classmates based on lessons learned from a struggle with a life-threatening illness during this past year.
“First, don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Fisher said. “You will find that there are many things you can’t do alone. Seek out people that can help. My second point, sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it’s taken away. Take a moment and consider how lucky we all are just to be here today. I also realized the importance of surrounding myself with people who cared. This (my illness) was a life-changing experience for me. Most importantly, I learned that bad things are bound to happen in life and there is nothing you can do to change that. Some will be expected, some will not. One thing remains the same. No matter what it is, you have to find a way to get through it. Once it’s behind you, learn from it. It will make you a better and stronger person.”
Taylor reminded his class that graduation was the beginning of a new chapter in their lives—a chapter that will include failures on the path to success.
“We are closing a chapter in our lives,” Taylor acknowledged. “We shouldn’t be sad. We should be excited. I challenge everyone here to find something that you are truly passionate about instead of worrying about whether you can do it or not. The truth is all of us will fail at something but it’s what we will do with that failure that will determine if we will be successful or not. Failing makes us better. Once we fail we experience feelings that makes us know that we never want to experience those feelings again. As the Chinese proverb says, fall down seven times, stand up eight. Graduating and starting a new chapter will not be easy but I know this senior class will make it through.”
The graduation ceremony included special music by the AC-SH choir and seniors Misty McClusky and Jordan Centers. Senior parent John Mark Toby shared a brief message to the new graduates.