Lee County High School graduates record crop of seniors

LEESBURG — The Lee County High School Stadium was a sea of red on Saturday morning as nearly 400 graduates marched to a processional by the LCHS band, anxious to receive their “sheepskins,” and begin the next phase of their lives.

Following a rendition of the National Anthem by Brandon Edward Lisenby and Nicolette Grace Mantica, and an address by Student Body President Morgan Elizabeth Ethridge, the record number of graduates were addressed by Salutatorian Candice Emree Shirley.

“It seems that the past 12 years have just been a race, and I’m afraid we didn’t take our time to enjoy the journey,” Shirley said. “I’ve never done well with endings, whether it be a television show, a great book, or the end of life for someone I loved dearly.

But change is inevitable (and) we all have at least one thing in common — being here today. Even though most of us will leave here and never look back, I hope we’ll remember where we came from.

Like branches on a tree, we’ll grow in different directions, but our roots will stay anchored here. Each of us has an equal opportunity to be successful, because success is not defined by the standards of others, but by our own. Always remember that we came, we fought, we won.

Congratulations, Lee County High School Class of 2015. We did it.”

Mantica, class valedictorian, focused on the words “impatience” and “go” in her parting message to the graduating seniors.

“We don’t have to wait for the ready and the set,” Mantica said. “We can go. This promise to go and create change shouldn’t focus on not waiting to buy the latest Taylor Swift CD. Instead, we must have impatience for disrespect, impatience for racism and impatience for hate.

You can do great things without waiting to be an adult or waiting to have a degree. Young people win Nobel prizes, place at the Olympics, and even start their own organizations. Each of us here have the same opportunities, and they begin right here in their own community.

We don’t have to go to a university or a foreign country to become successful. The most important point is that we go and do something.

We are young, but we can go and make a difference. So always be impatient.”

Prior to the graduates lining up for their diplomas, LCHS Principal Kevin Dowling quoted a section of “Hall of Fame,” by the Irish rock group, The Script.

“Standing in the hall of fame

And the world’s gonna know your name

‘Cause you burn with the brightest flame

And the world’s gonna know your name

And you’ll be on the walls of the hall of fame”

“Dare to love and forget how to hate,” Dowling said. “Never give up, now matter how hard or impossible things might seem. Be careful on the road and always wear your seat belts.”