About 150 Clinton High Red Devil seniors joined the ranks of Red Devil Nation as new alumni in Friday morning Commencement exercises.
“It’s a great day to be a Red Devil,” said Principal Dr. Martha Brothers, as the graduating class said her familiar quote with her. “But, it’s a greater day to be a Red Devil alumni.”
Brothers told the story of a carpenter who was retiring and agreed to his boss’s request to build one last house, but his heart just wasn’t in it. Consequently, he used substandard materials and less than top notch building practices. “He cut corners in any way possible,” Brothers said. Then, the boss handed him keys.
“What are the keys for?” the carpenter asked.
The boss told him, “This is your house. This is my gift to you,” and only then did the carpenter realize that he would be living in a shoddy house.
“If he had just known it was going to be his house, he would have done things differently. We build our lives one day at a time. Many times we put in less than our best.”
Then, Brothers said that we realize that we have to live in this house and if we could, we would build it differently. “The problem is, we can’t always go back. We can undo what we did 5 minutes ago.”
She reminded the graduates that they are the carpenter - “each day, you hammer your nails, you build your walls, and some of you even do some wiring.”
She told the Class of 2025 not to build their house with cheap materials — “You deserve better.”
During the Commencement, the Clinton High School ROTC presented the colors, and Kyla Long, senior class president, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Providing all the ceremony’s music, the CHS and Clinton Middle School band members presented The National Anthem.
Jabari Dillard, student body president, presented the Invocation, and special messages were provided by Valedictorian William Reid and Salutatorian Nathan Meade.
Brothers, Melanie Watson, assistant principal, and Dr. David O’Shields, Superintendent, performed the presentation of diplomas; and the Senior Class presented The Alma Mater, before the traditions mortar boards toss.
The program lists 23 graduates as Class of 2025 Scholarship Recipients, most with multiple scholarship offers. The program lists 16 High Honors Graduates (final cumulative GPA of 4.75 or higher), wearing a gold stole, and 19 more as Honor Graduates (final cumulative GPA of 4.25-4.749), wearing a gold cord.
