John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School Class of 2023 salutatorian Song Ting Tang, cheered by his classmates as he came to the stage, spoke in his commencement address about the support he received when he first arrived at the school at age 10.
“The Class of 2023… reminds me of an old Chinese saying: One minute on stage takes 10 years of practice off stage,” Tang said. “Behind each spectacular performance was the hard work and long hours our class has put in to present that magic in front of the audience.”
The school’s 37th commencement proved a testament to the fruits of a lot of time and effort. More than $8 million in scholarships have been awarded among the 106 students in this year’s graduating class, 73 of which are honors graduates.
The class yielded a National Merit Scholarship Program finalist (Tang), and three Georgia Scholar honorees (Lauren Cawthon, Lucy Tomeo and Tang).
This also happens to be the year the U.S. News & World Report ranked Davidson Fine Arts 132 in public high schools nationally, 31 in magnet high schools and third in Georgia high schools.
Richmond County Board of Education president Charlie Walker added a personal note in his address, as his son, Charles Bruce Walker, an honor graduate, was among the candidates.
“Six years ago, I stepped into Davidson Fine Arts for the very first time,” said Walker. “The occasion was a tour of the school with a rising sixth grader. Six years later, that little boy is now a young man.”
Walker went on to praise Davidson for his son’s success.
“The difference was made in classrooms, with instructors who nurtured his talent, and challenged his intellect,” he said, offering gratitude to principal Reneé Kelly and the school’s faculty.
Valedictorian Tyler Sims spoke to these qualities in his commencement speech, when he said time at school was about getting the “means to discover outside of the classroom,” for students to become the best version of themselves.
Drawing from a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes — “a man’s mind, when stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimension” — Sims exhorted his classmates to fulfill their potential by developing their character, to seek success by pursuing “kindness and generosity, believing each person valuable and worthy of respect,” and “let the people be there for you.”
“As for the future, who knows what it holds; but one thing is sure: we will make the most of it,” said Sims. “We all worked incredibly hard, and I have no doubt we will continue to do so in the future. We’ll scatter around the world and become part of different communities. And the world will never regain its original dimensions.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
