NEWBERRY — Before 11 Newberry Academy students received their diplomas Donna Perry charged each student to strive for success during her commencement address.
Perry has known many of the graduates their entire lives, and has watched them grow from shy, timid pre-schoolers to the self-assured seniors they are today.
Instead of searching YouTube for ideas or bursting into song during her address, as suggested by a friend, Perry instead encouraged each student to chase after their dreams.
“Each of you have different gifts. Some of you excel in academics, others in athletics and others in more compassionate, creative endeavors. Whatever your gift, dare to dream and then dare to follow your dream,” she said.
One of the saddest statements anyone can make, according to Perry, is saying ‘if I had only…’
“I’m going to charge you to strive for success by keeping on, or perhaps more realistically, when you encounter failure because yes, you will encounter failure in life. If it has not already, life will throw you some curveballs. It is how you deal with those situations that will define the person that you become,” Perry said.
Since her own high school days, Perry has collected poems and quotes that have resonated with her. One of her favorites is “The Don’t Creed.”
“The Don’t Creed” offers these thoughts:
• Don’t ever try to understand everything.
• Don’t ever be reluctant to show your feelings.
• Don’t ever be afraid to try to make things better.
• Don’t ever take the weight of the world on your shoulders.
• Don’t ever feel threatened by the future.
• Don’t ever feel guilty about the past.
• Don’t ever feel that you are alone.
• Don’t ever forget that you can achieve many of the things that you imagine
• Don’t ever stop loving, believing and dreaming your dreams
Perry left the graduates with a quote from a very dear friend who said ‘Each day is a gift. You decide whether to open it or leave it under the tree.’
“While I wish you the best as you embark on the next leg of your life’s journey, my deepest desire is that each of you will choose to open the gift every day,” she said.
Valedictorian Shield Sawyer took a minute to reflect on his time at Newberry Academy. While preparing for his address, Sawyer admitted he had nothing. Coming up short on ideas, Sawyer chose to talk about the things he’s learned while at Newberry Academy.
“The first being, do not procrastinate. My class, as well as my teachers, know that I am very prone to waiting until the day before, morning or maybe the hour before a project is due before I even start. We’ve all learned they always know no matter how good you think you did, the teacher always knows you waited,” Sawyer said.
Sawyer also learned along the way that teachers don’t like when you talk.
“They just don’t. I don’t know why, I thought they would like us to get to know each other, but they don’t, especially when you’re at the end of a band concert and just want to yell ‘nailed it,’ they don’t like it,” he joked.
On a serious note, Sawyer has learned the value of hard work and team work.
“If any of you over the past couple of years have followed our sports teams, you would have known we were not always the best, most skilled or usually not the best on the court (basketball). Our coaches, Coach Scott Gardner for me, has taught us that if you work together and put as much work in as you can, you’re not always the best, but you’ll have a shot to win,” he said.
Sawyer also recognized the teachers who have taught them perseverance and the importance of a good attitude throughout their time at Newberry Academy.
“They taught us that a bad grade won’t ruin our life, you’ve just got to keep working hard and you will succeed. A good attitude is also important because a bad attitude is contagious, but so is a good one. A good attitude can help bring other people up and brighten their day. As Coach Gardner would tell us many times over the course of a year, ‘There are 24 hours in a day, don’t let one bad one ruin the other 23,’” Sawyer said.
To end on a humorous note, one final thing Sawyer has learned while at Newberry Academy “is that dumpster fire can be a noun and an adjective.”
“Thank you for sticking by me and making these school days go by not so bad. I know everybody will succeed and we’re gonna stick together. I hope to see where you all go in the future,” he said.
In Salutatorian Andy Lin’s address, he first started off by thanking Head of School Nicole May.
“Thank you Mrs. May for letting me have the privilege of receiving an extra homework assignment and then reading it in front of a crowd of people right before I graduate,” he joked.
For Lin, it hadn’t quite sunk in that he was finally graduating. From a kindergartner trying to escape to the bathroom to graduating with his classmates, Lin has learned over the years the value of friendship.
“I learned that if you spend your time with the right people, time flies by and you make priceless memories together,” he said.
As they each go their separate ways, Lin wished his classmates the best of luck in their endeavors — whether it be higher education or the Armed Forces.
“To wrap this all up, I wanted to share with you all a quote that perfectly sums up high school. I saw this in a YouTube video; ‘High school is like a lollipop, looks sweet on the outside, takes forever to get through and it sucks until the end. Overall, you’ll miss it when it’s gone,’” Lin said.
