Gilmer High School held their graduation on Saturday, May 25th, giving the Class of 2013 a great sendoff in front of a packed Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium.Once the soon-to-be graduates and the teachers found their seats and those in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Senior class president Patrick Sheahan came the singing of the alma mater led by senior class treasurer Stormey Dean, which the two-hundred forty-one exiting seniors performed remarkably.

The morning’s speeches began shortly after the last note of the alma mater was sung, as senior class president Manuel Leion-Ruiz III took to the podium. Leion-Ruiz talked about some of the obstacles he overcame from “not knowing one word of English”, and on a lighter note some of the things he will miss about Gilmer High School, which included

“Years of waking up, doing the same routine, seeing the same people, having mysterious lunches, and sleeping in Mr. Baker’s class”.

After Manuel left the stage came senior class secretary Amye Jeans, who read “Climb ‘Til Your Dream Comes True” by Helen Steiner Rice, which says in part

“…For nothing in life is worthy/Is never too hard to achieve; If you have the courage to try it/And you have the faith to believe…”

Next in the day’s activities was a performance by senior Jared Jones, who flawlessly sang “This is the Moment” for those in attendance. Mr. Jones’ performance was then followed by the class history presented by Patrick Sheahan, who then gave way to salutatorian Lance Armour.

Armour’s speech to the crowd was concise and to the point, as it in part said

“All the memories we shared together were real, and they were fun…And, you know what? It really was fun.”

Following Armour’s quick address was that of valedictorian Saresh Akmal, who was extremely enthusiastic about the class reaching this graduation day. Ms. Akmal also made sure to point out the achievements of her classmates that surrounded her day in and day out, which included the school’s band, which “went on to compete and earn several titles”, the robotics team which also competed on the state level, and the wrestling team.

Once Ms. Akmal’s speech ended, it was time for principal Adam Hathaway to take the stage. Mr. Hathaway started his address by saying that “We are here…Some of you led us here, some of you were smart enough to follow, and others had to be dragged here.”

Mr. Hathaway also talked about how important what the senior class had learned during their years at Gilmer High School would come into play later in their lives, saying

“There are going to be a lot of unexpected moments in your life. I hope you take everything you learned here—not just academic stuff, but everything that everyone has taught you over the course of your life—and deal with them well, because that is truly what defines us as human beings.”

Following principal Adam Hathaway’s remarks regarding this senior class and what they should expect in their futures came the moment all of those in attendance were waiting for: the presentation of the diplomas.

After all 241 students had made the trek across the stage and returned to their seats came the “Kodak moment” of the morning: The tossing of the caps.

FYN would like to say congratulations to the Gilmer High School Class of 2013 and wish you all nothing but good luck in your future.