Discovery High School Principal Christopher Morris called it a bittersweet occasion as he bid congratulations and goodbye to 63 graduating seniors at commencement exercises Tuesday.
Through the stress and hard work of a Discovery High School education, the faculty and students had grown close, sharing not only laughter but tears through the years, the principal said.
Dr. Morris counseled his Discovery High School graduates – and 22 additional Natomas Unified Adult Education students who participated Tuesday – to “dare greatly and have the courage to take risks.”
Teenagers today have access to technology that past Americans could only dream of, and today’s youth can carve out a reputation as a generation that recovered from recession and war to improve not only their community but their world, the principal said.
Dr. Morris added a little levity to the proceedings as well, joking about his home life by telling the crowd: “I’m a little sad that the school year is over – this is the only place I get to be in charge.”
Looking to the future, Salutatorian Auston Cox told his classmates that “your life is what you make it.” Then, glancing briefly at the past, he told the DHS faculty, “We haven’t always been the easiest to handle, but somehow you got us all here today.”
Valedictorian Gabriela Ayala said that Discovery High’s graduating class “all worked hard together to overcome obstacles” and that “we have all seemed to pull through and reach a major milestone.”
Ayala complimented the DHS faculty, noting there are many great teachers. She singled out Chef Monica Graves, whose culinary arts program not only taught students to cook but “to be team players, have patience and learn to respect each other, all while having fun.”
A graduating student from Adult Education, Tracy Rollings, told a story of persevering by attending years of night classes after dropping out of comprehensive high school to raise a child. She is determined to become a nurse someday, she said.
Armed with a high school diploma, Rollings is one step closer to a nursing degree and has her sights squarely on that prize. “A few years of sacrifice is nothing compared to what I will gain in the long term,” she said.
The written program handed out at Tuesday’s commencement ceremony quoted from Henry David Thoreau in a message aimed squarely at graduates: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined,” it said.
