The 79 members of the Alleghany High School class of 2005 make their way onto Woodruff Field for their graduation ceremony last Friday night.

Speaker tells graduates to overcome adversity, reach for dreams

Soon after being covered with “silly string” by the graduates, Principal Judd Starling asked the audience to rise for the recessional as the Alleghany High School class of 2005 walked away from Woodruff Field and up the stairs through a stadium filled with family and well-wishers on May 27.

Like last year, the location of the graduation was questionable last Friday morning, as clouds loomed over the town of Sparta. Following suit with last year, the clouds broke away, allowing the youth to graduate on the football field of their alma mater.

After members of the Bruce Wayne Osborne Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 7034 presented colors, Salutatorian Rebecca Hash spoke to her classmates and the audience, noting gratitude to others, specifically her family and teachers.

“As a class, we would not be here if it weren’t for the help and support of our families,” Hash said. “Even though some of our loved ones are no longer here with us in the flesh, they will always be here with us in spirit, in our memory and in our heart. We are thankful for those who are still with us today. They are people who helped make us who we are today and what we will become by giving us words of love, wisdom and encouragement when we need it and helping us be who we really are in this world.

“We also cannot begin to express the gratitude we have for our teachers,” Hash continued. “When all is said and done, we know that they also helped us discover our passion and helped plant the seed of our future, which will grow and affect the lives of many to come.” Hash noted that a wise man made an impact on her life when he compared one’s life to an empty book.

“Imagine that someone has given you an empty book with a given number of pages, telling you that you are the author. As you gaze upon the empty pages with innumerable thoughts filling your head. Then someone informs you that you can use only ink and once you write something, it is permanent and cannot be erased. The wise man then went on to inform me that the book is your life and your actions are the permanent words written in ink. Everyone needs to take care of their actions so at the end of their lives, they will not be ashamed of the entire work. I cannot agree any more with this wise man, especially in this particular case. That wise man is one of my own older brothers.”

Above left: Commencement speaker Tom Higgins addresses the recent graduates.

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