Lin, Davis lead 136 honor grads
The Ware County High School Class of 2026, 323 strong, stepped toward the future Saturday, May 23 in a morning commencement ceremony in Memorial Stadium.
Under bright sunny skies with a slight breeze easing a temperature reaching into the mid-80s, the gathered crowd of family and friends filled the stadium’s 12,000-seat main grandstand to honor the students.
As freshmen in 2023, they entered high school as the first WCHS class who didn’t have to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic as had their three predecessors.
The graduates, 136 of whom held honor status, were led academically by Valedictorian Kevin Lin and Salutatorian Matthew Lawton Davis. Both top honorees addressed their fellow graduates and the audience, thanking family, teachers and others who impacted their educational journey.
Cayden Smith, among the honor graduates, welcomed those gathered. After the WCHS Junior ROTC presented the colors, Alexander Eaves recognized members of the class who will enter the Armed Services after graduation, and offered the Pledge of Allegiance before members of the school’s band played the National Anthem.
Lindsey Morgan, Class of 2026 Counselor and its sponsor, then offered a memoriam to members of the class who had died: Adrian Arnold, Caden Musgrove, Iven Purdy, and Olivia Ray.
Barry Deas, Ware County Board of Education Chairman followed with congratulations to the class, most of whom began their educational journeys in Ware County as “the Kindergarten Class of 2013,” he said.
Deas reminded the students to care about others as they travel through life.
“To make a difference in someone’s life you don’t have to be rich, beautiful or perfect,” Deas said. “You just have to care. Make a difference today.”
Deas offered some advice when life’s challenges seem too hard to handle.
“Lean on your faith, family and friends, but mostly on your faith,” he said. “Work hard, dream big, never give up and have a blessed life.”
Davis centered his address on faith, saying his relationship with Christ “has provided me with the strength and guidance to stand here today. He has watched over us during our lowest moments and helped us overcome obstacles that once felt impossible.”
The Salutatorian said in those times, he looked to Psalm 55, verse 22: “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.”
As they formulate the plan for their lives, Davis asked his classmates to remember Christ’s role.
“My hope is that we do not place our confidence soley in our own plans, but in God’s plan for our lives.”
Lin said he researched the graduation speeches of others, but “none of those speeches is really about us,” he said.
“If I’m being honest, I think a lot of us have spent these past four years trying to figure out where we fit in.”
With that being much the case on the graduates’ journey through adulthood, Lin offered four points to remember:
• Don’t follow the crowd because you don’t know the destination. “Not every path is meant for you … some of the best parts of your life won’t come from fitting in, but from the moments you choose to step away and trying something different.”
• Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. “The only person you should be comparing yourself to is your past self. … The only life you’re supposed to live is your own, and life will not get better by comparing it to someone elses.”
• The biggest risk is taking no risk. “Because what hurts more than failing is the regret of never trying at all.”
• Be grateful for the small moments, the big moments and most importantly, the hard moments that got us here.
He thanked his parents for their guidance, support, and “believing in me and for shaping me into the person I am today. I owe this moment on this stage to you.”
The valedictorian urged his classmates to “be different,” and closed with a bit of self-deprecating humor using a reference to a line in a Dr. Seuss book: “You have to be odd to be number one.”
WCHS Principal Dr. Buford Kellogg then presented the class, and along with Supt. Dr. Lynn Barber and Deas, presented diplomas to the graduates on the stage set up on the center of the stadium’s field.
