In a weekend full of proud families, excited graduates and tearful teachers, no graduation stood out more than Carrboro High School’s.
As friends and families poured into the Dean E. Smith Center, escaping a scorching-hot Saturday evening, audio clips of students expressing their gratitude to everyone from parents to teachers to prom dates played over the speakers.
From the outset, it was obvious CHS’s graduation had a more personal feel than those of East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill High, held earlier in the day, though both were especially meaningful in their own rights. There was just a sense that this was something special, the first-ever graduating class of Carrboro, and the gravity of the event wasn’t lost on the students.
“Everyone has to begin as a student. Every ballerina, astronaut and president began at a desk with a number-two pencil,†said co-valedictorian Emily Hamilton. “But we’re not just any students; we are the first graduates to walk across the stage for Carrboro High.â€
It wasn’t always easy for the first graduating class of Carrboro High. Many dealt with a tough transition to a new school, and not all stayed. But class speaker Alex Borowski said that that experience was what made their relationships stand out.
“By the end of our long trek to where we are right now, there existed a unique bond amongst us,†he said.
Graduation guests were told to hold their applause and cheering until the end, but of course none listened. The outbursts were short and sweet though, and were awarded to all 143 graduates.
Looking back on the first graduating class, Carrboro principal Kelly Batten said he couldn’t think of a better group of kids to make history.
“They really embody the spirit of the school, what we want a senior class to look like, what we want them to be like, the type of leaders we want them to be,†he said.
East Chapel Hill also had a memorable graduation, because it wasn’t just the seniors who were leaving.
Beloved principal Dave Thaden, now retired, presided over his last graduation and received several standing ovations from students, parents, faculty and anyone in the vicinity.
Thaden spoke, as did the 10 valedictorians who received straight A’s their entire school careers.
Chapel Hill High School students had to say their own goodbyes to two classmates who passed away during the school year, and Atlas Fraley and Rodney Torain weighed heavily on everyone’s mind during the graduation proceedings. The parents of the best friends were given certificates and a short ceremony was held to commemorate the well-liked student-athletes, and graduating senior Amanda Reams spoke to a building full of teary eyes.
“We have two empty chairs and a missing place in our hearts and souls because we miss them so much,†Reams said.
Though memories of Fraley and Torain hung over them, CHHS graduates made sure to celebrate the good memories as well, as the five valedictorians recalled the fun moments that stood out over the past four years.