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Campbellsville HS graduates nearly 60 students Austin Hash is this year's valedictorian, and Alex Bailey is salutatorian. Stellar class includes high percentage of College & Career Ready, or College or Career Ready Certified graduates. Click on headline for complete story By Calen McKinney, Public Information Officer Campbellsville Independent Schools They entered the auditorium as seniors. They left as alumni. Campbellsville High School Class of 2016 graduated Saturday, May 21, in front of family, friends, teachers and administrators. CHS Principal Kirby Smith said this school year flew by. "Seniors, where has the time gone?" Smith said. "Class of 2016, you have been a very fun class." He said this year's seniors have been very successful, leading to the school being named a Distinguished high school for the first time in history. "In general, life starts when you walk out of here today," he said. Even though the purpose of the ceremony is to celebrate the graduates' success, Smith said he wants to talk to them about failure. Each senior likely failed a test, missed an assignment or two, earned a low score on a paper or failed a class. But they didn't let that stop them from moving forward, Smith said. "But you sit before me truly a success," he said. Smith said several of today's most successful athletes and business leaders at one time failed in their lives, including Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney and J.K. Rowling. He said he encourages the graduates to never let failure stop them from finding another path and continuing to move forward in life. Of the senior class, Smith said, 22 are college ready, 23 are college and career ready and two are career ready. "Seniors, may your success be many and your failures be few." Austin Hash is this year's valedictorian, and Alex Bailey is salutatorian. In his address to his classmates, Bailey said John Kinkade, the Governor's Scholar Program director, said many times at the program this summer, "These will be the longest days, and shortest weeks, of your life." "At the time, I thought nothing about it," Bailey said. "But once the summer finally ended, I then grasped the concept." Bailey talked about parents once having to force their children out of bed and to school. He also talked about how parents had to transport their children to school functions, sporting events and practices. "Remember the fights over missing or late homework, or a couple bad grades?" he said. "Students, think about what all we have had to endure to get here: ThinkLink, AR points, the notorious senior project." Despite it all, Bailey said, he and his classmates always kept moving forward. "Getting through elementary school took forever, and middle school took even longer. But as we celebrate today, you can look back and say to yourself, 'Wow, where has the time gone?' "If you took a look at any student sitting in front of you today, you would see someone ready to literally run out of this [auditorium], with diploma in hand, and do incredible things with it. But that same student, was once a little, innocent kid, dreaming anxiously that this day would be everything he or she truly hoped for, and that he or she would work endlessly to get here. And while the days seemed so long, 13 years together with you guys came and went by too fast." Bailey said the Class of 2016 has made inseparable bonds with one another. "Our hearts are forever intertwined with purple and gold," he said. Bailey said he gives credit for that strong bond in two ways. "This class has undoubtedly been one of the most successful and outstanding classes in Campbellsville Independent Schools history. Our academic and athletic excellence has followed us all the way through middle and high school." CHS is now a Distinguished high school, he said, which has changed the way people in Campbellsville, all around Kentucky and even nationwide see Campbellsville as a high school. "We have set a new academic precedent here at CHS." But the most powerful entity that brought the class together, Bailey said, was Jamie Cahill, who died when the seniors were in sixth grade. A cap and gown was placed in a seat at the end of the front row in honor of Cahill. "I still remember the moment when Mrs. [Beth] W[iedewitsch] sat our entire class down in the gym and told us what had happened, and how we could begin the healing process. And our healing process was to win. "I would personally like to dedicate all of the Class of 2016's accomplishments and honors to Jamie. This is for him. "We realized that year that tomorrow is never promised, and that we must stand strong by one other, hold hands, close our eyes, and do unbelievable things, together. United we stand, divided we fall, and our class stands tall before you today." Bailey said he encourages his classmates to thank those who have helped them make it to graduation. "This diploma is a one-way ticket to extraordinary opportunities. Take full advantage of every skill, lesson and pathway God was blessed us with thus far. Savor every friendship you've made in these hallways, both students and teachers." Bailey thanked the teachers and parents who sacrificed to see the senior class succeed. "Our future successes and impacts in this world will be because of you all, and we'll forever be in debt to these incredible individuals. Thank you for pushing us to be the very best version of ourselves. We promised to never stop, and we never did." After the graduation ceremony, Bailey said, the Class of 2016 will likely never be all together again. "But as we continue on our separate paths, as new doors open and new opportunities arise, wherever God may take us across the map, always remember where you came from. We are forever eagles, and that means we are forever family. As I stand before you today, I have to say that I am very proud, humbled, and honor to be a part of this great class of 2016. "We are an inspirational group of people. We are the ones who have exceeded any expectation put in front of us, we are the ones who have accepted any challenge and ran away with it, we are the ones who have done things nobody believed we could do, and that says a lot about the potential of every student graduating today. In his valedictorian address, Hash said he wouldn't be giving any advice to his classmates. "Maybe when I am 50, and, hopefully, rich and famous, and with many stories to tell, I'll be worthy of giving advice." Hash quoted Tennyson to discuss his classmates. "In the poem 'Ulysses,' Alfred Lord Tennyson ended with the line, 'To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.' Graduates of the Class of 2016, we have certainly done so." Hash thanked those who helped him and his classmates reach graduation, including friends, family members and God. "Lastly, I would like to thank our teachers, school staff and coaches of all kinds. We did not get to a distinguished level school through our own power, nor did we win championships on our own. "They have put up with our childish and immature ways in class and on the field, but have also joined in from time to time, and have led us to not only become better students and athletes, but better men and women. They have laughed and cried with us, but have also been strict and pushed us to be the best we can be. All of you never gave up hope on any of us, never hesitated, and realized our journey starts with one single step followed by another and another, from our elementary education continued. For this, we, the Class of 2016, thank every single one of you." Hash said the Class of 2016 has achieved many accomplishments, from the baseball and softball teams winning the All "A" region championships, tennis player Brooklyn Harris playing at the state tournament two years in a row and having the highest college and career ready marks in recent years. "It is by no accident, or at least I hope, that these remarkable achievements have happened this year and have come from our class. It is a result of our ambition to perfect ourselves as individuals and as a team. However, without the help and support of coaches, teachers, parents, counselors and the overall inspiration of the entire school community, none of this would have been possible. Because of this I say our success is your success and, again, we thank every single one of you." Hash said he and his classmates can look back and now see all the hard work was work the effort. "Yes, as we go forward there will be many uncertainties and obstacles in our future. I think of these, however, as opportunities instead of hardships, ways to better ourselves and make our names known. "I kept to my word and have not offered any advice in this speech. This is because, to be blunt, we don't need it." Campbellsville Independent Schools Superintendent Mike Deaton told graduates that it's great to be their age, an age where a person can follow their dreams but also change. "You can always change your dreams and change your path," he said. "It's easy to fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing something you love." Deaton said graduates should remember, however, that hard work is required to make things happen. "It's hard work that creates change," he said. "You weren't given this diploma for just showing up at school or logging on to a computer. This diploma from Campbellsville Independent Schools is only given because of your hard work." Deaton said he has a task for all graduates. "Don't aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference. If you want the amazing feeling of pride you are experiencing to last for beyond today, then make every day about more than your own accomplishment. Make it about the power of "we." If you do, you'll have a lot more than things worth having; you'll have a life worth living." Deaton offered graduates several keys to success. First, you don't receive respect, you earn it. Second, you aren't given opportunity, you fight for it. "Third, credit cards are not free money," he said. Fourth, now that they have graduated from CHS, bosses and professors likely won't accept notes from the graduates' mothers. "Fifth, don't pick your nose in public," he said. "And sixth, always remember to look back. That's where all your family will be standing and saying, 'I love you,' and 'I'm proud of you.'" Deaton asked the Class of 2016 to stand, and then asked all CHS alumni to stand. "Seniors, look around. You are about to enter into a special group, the alumni of CHS. It hasn't always been easy, but you stuck with it and hopefully the lessons you've learned from that will carry you to greater accomplishments." Deaton then declared the class as graduates of CHS. Afterward, the graduates threw confetti in the air. CHS band members played the processional and recessional. Micah Price led the invocation and Kathryn Doss led the benediction. Campbellsville Board of Education chair Pat Hall and members Barkley Taylor, Angie Johnson and Suzanne Wilson presented diplomas to graduates. Class officers are as follow:
Class colors are purple, gold and black. And the class motto is "Oh the place you'll go. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So ... get on your way!" by Dr. Seuss. - Calen McKinney This story was posted on 2016-05-22 06:11:39
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