“Our motto is, if we do not quit, we cannot fail. If we truly aim for our dreams, and don’t give up on them, it’ll all be worth it in the end,” said Madison Keizer, class president, during her commencement speech.
GCA, a private school operated by the Seventh-Day Adventist church, held the ceremony in the school’s gymnasium.
Keizer, who is a local resident, gave the official commencement address on behalf of the class, and challenged graduates to wait and see what the future holds.
“As comedian Jon Stewart once said, ‘so how do you know what is the right path to choose to get the result you desire?” she asked.
“And the honest answer is this: you won’t. And accepting that greatly eases the anxiety of your life experience. I think the uncertainty of what lies ahead makes life exciting and worth living,” she continued.
She also drew laughs from the audience when she told them she wouldn’t be caught wearing a school uniform again.
“After more than 720 days of all of us wearing matching clothes, this, thankfully, is the last time we ever will,” Keizer said.
“As soon as we walk out of these doors our individuality will finally be restored,” she added.
Grads Giselle Aszalos, Rachael Hankins and Kelsi Williams’s delivered a song dedication of “My Wish” to their classmates during the ceremony.
The members of the class of 2010 are from Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, Alabama, California, Illinois and Korea.
Commencement speaker
Paul Hoover, who is the associate ministerial director for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists, was the guest speaker.
He was the former pastor of Calhoun Seventh-day Adventist Church. Hoover began with a reading of the Scripture, he said:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope filled future.” Jeremiah 29:11-13.
Hoover said that we do not have the power to know our future, the future is only known by God.
“The future is a blank sheet for me for you. But for God it isn’t. Somewhere in eternity, God dreamed of you. God willed you into existence,” he said.
He reminded the grads to consider that God’s plans will prosper them and give them hope in reaching their goals.
“In the plans of the father, your destiny will be realized,” Hoover said.
Presentation of Scholarships
GCA principal Greg Gerard said the class of 2010 is an impressive group.
“Typically when students graduate from GCA, 90 to 95 percent will be in college next year. In this class, it’s just about at 100 percent,” Gerard said.
“It is a diverse class, but it is a class that is remarkably united and harmonious,” he added.
During the graduation, there was a special presentation of local awards and college scholarships. There were also several family events leading up to graduation on campus.
The school held a reception in the cafeteria following the graduation.
Glad to hear, Aunty, that you were there when the Big Bang occurred with all this "Known, proven science."
Truth is, much of science is based upon unknown theory and speculation. People are free to exp-lore, whether it be science or religion, and draw their own conclusions.
As for the adventist school, one needs to examine the educational and financial background of the parents. That plays more of a role than anything else.
Also, one needs to consider the intangibles...Many church groups have a better record of their children holding better societal values than the mainstream. Parents who are loving and caring will spend more time nurturing their children than most other groups.
Also, private schools have the benefit and luxury of turning down students that the public sector cannot, which, in effect, lowers group scores.
The city is fortunate in not having the higher % of nonEnglish speaking Hispanics that the county has. They also have a student body that has a higher % of parents who are college educated, higher salaried, etc. to draw upon.
Success breeds success. Calhoun does an excellent job for a public institution in comparison to others. Check out the high number of county residents who send their kids to the city schools. Slow learners rejected...high average students accepted.
All of these play a major role in the discrepancies between the schools.
Siphon off 10 to 20 % of the best in any system, add them to another, and bingo...you get the results.
http://calhountimes.com/view/full_story/7738641/article-CHS-graduates-more-than-200?
http://calhountimes.com/view/full_story/7598986/article-Sonoraville-High-School-graduates-214?
http://calhountimes.com/view/full_story/7668544/article-Gordon-Central-sends-188-seniors-on-their-way?