Central Gwinnett Graduates asked to Stand, with a Little Help from Friends

A thousand family members, friends and supporters gathered at Central Gwinnett’s stadium on May 27 to cheer on the school’s 442 graduates from the class of 2011.

The class includes 53 honor graduates, Principal Nancy Martin told the crowd. More than 200 seniors challenged themselves by taking 580 advanced placement classes.

“Three hundred forty-five students have plans to attend a post-secondary school,” Martin said, “and 26 students plan to enter the military.”

Central Gwinnett seniors have been offered 5.5 million dollars in scholarships, not including the HOPE Scholarship. Graduating seniors are enrolled in universities and colleges that include: Emory, The Naval Academy, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Morehouse, Cornell, Gwinnett College, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Valdosta State, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina, Gwinnett Tech and Kennesaw State.  

“Class of 2011, go out and conquer your dreams,” Martin said, invoking the school’s mascot: “But remember -- once a Black Knight, always a Black Knight.”

Graduating seniors at Central Gwinnett were told they were among 8,900 students from 20 high schools in the county.  They were also told that their achievement level was among the highest of any class in the history of Gwinnett County.  

Senior Class President Amber Barnes used her address to thank parents, high school faculty and staff, and her fellow graduates “for making the last four years some of the most memorable.”  She thanked the seniors for never giving up, for not dropping out and for overcoming every obstacle. After she said, “Well done, seniors,” she received a loud round of applause from graduates and guests.

Leading all of the graduates in a standing ovation as a salute to parents, Senior Class Vice-President and Salutatorian, Anna Eileen Dilks, urged her fellow graduates to “lead with compassion.”

“I encourage each of you to stand up for what is right, even when it is tough,” Dilks said. “Stand up for your loved ones … and create opportunities for other to stand beside you. Have the heart to stand back up when life knocks you down… People who stand up and take action change the lives of others.”

Valedictorian Christopher Rhett Henry asked graduates not to go through life as “rebels without a cause” but instead to “illuminate” their lives. He said graduates should be “engines for change.”  

“We live in a time when human beings are connected instantaneously, but still violence and conflict can topple our achievements,” Henry said. “At the end of everything, hate is created by the distance between souls.  And it is varying degrees of distance that is keeping us in the mire.”

“But we are not going it alone we have a community of commit-manity. And to paraphrase those crazy rock n’ rollers, we’re gonna get by with a little help from our friends.”