The graduation ceremonies at Durant Public School were more bittersweet than usual - 2018 marks the graduation of the school’s final class. Hereafter, the high school will be merged with another area district.
“The journey to this place has not been easy. I have overcome adversity and learned every problem has a solution,” Salutatorian Darius Sharkey, an honor student and athlete told the group. “I’ve learned what it takes to become an uncommon man.”
Valedictorian Quamon Newsom told his classmates that they must move on with dedication.
“You have to dig deep; you need to represent something,” he said. “It has been an unforgettable journey, but the best is yet to come.”
Dr. Kimberlin Sturgis, a 1990 Durant Public School graduate who has since earned bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees, gave the graduates five bits of wisdom:
1. Be patient
2. Set goals and work hard
3. Ignorance stands between people
4. Good is the enemy of great
5. Live by faith, not fear
“The world is your oyster,” she told the graduates, “and now is the time for you to expose the pearl within. Your reality does not have to determine your reach.”
District Superintendent Glenn Carlisle encouraged the graduates to “Stive to be somebody. work hard because nothing comes easy. Work hard on your relationships and surround yourselves with strong people. And finally, be careful, be prayerful and be successful.”
All of the published and non-published Durant graduation photos can be viewed or purchased at http://thestarherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/index.asp.
