Early on Wednesday morning, Academy of Richmond County’s (ARC) graduating class of 2025 gathered at The Bell Auditorium for their commencement ceremony.
Emotional goodbyes
With a face covered in tears, graduate Jordyn Woods beamed with pride in her alma mater.
“I’m just so proud of me and all of my friends because I’ve seen everything that we’ve gone through to get to this moment and all of the struggles we went through, we all deserve this moment,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “I love ARC. I’m so ARC. I’m a musketeer forever, and I love the staff and I love the people that I met.”
Woods plans to study nursing at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Echoing her sentiments was fellow graduate Akira Green, whose next step is to study radiology at Aiken Technical College.
“I learned a lot through high school…I’m gonna miss my whole class,” she said.
‘There is far more to success’
Among the memorable moments of the day were the speeches from valedictorian Lauren Andrews and salutatorian McKenzie Hill.
“Hard work, sacrifice, discipline are often some of the words used to describe successful people. What some people fail to realize is that there is far more to success than spending hours studying for an exam, staying after practice to put in extra work or meeting a vigorous schedule over and over again until perfection is achieved,” said Andrews. “It’s the way you carry yourself along the way that matters the most. Treating people with respect, being kind to others and finding the goodness in people is what truly matters the most.”
Andrews plans to attend the University of Georgia to major in biology with a pre-med concentration.
Looking to the past and the future
Hill’s speech struck an impactful chord while talking about the importance of remembering the past.
“The Oxford English Dictionary defines the past as something that has gone by in time, but for us, it’s so much more than that. Our school, the Academy of Richmond County, was segregated just 61 years ago. That’s not ancient history,” said Hill. “Today, it is a place where students of all backgrounds learn and grow together. That change didn’t happen overnight. It took time, courage and people who cared enough to fight for a better future. And because of them, we get to sit here and gather today, celebrating how far we’ve come and how far we can still go.”
“Every choice, every moment, every challenge. It’s all shaped who we are today,” she mused.
Hill plans to attend the University of Georgia and major in political science with a pre-law concentration.
