Wayne Country Day graduates 1,000th student
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on May 27, 2016 1:46 PM
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Wayne Country Day School graduate Tony Townsend, right, receives a hug from classmate Gianna Democko on Thursday following commencement exercises at the Paramount Theatre.
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Wayne Country Day School seniors, from left, Rebecca Edmondson, Gianna Democko, Lance Davis and Allison Bailey laugh while Joseph Cook gives the faculty address Thursday during commencement exercises at the Paramount Theatre.
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Wayne Country Day School graduate Nolan Davis, center, is hugged by his cousin Ashley Graham as his twin brother Lance Davis looks on following commencement exercises Thursday at the Paramount Theatre.
Wayne Country Day School's 45th commencement on Thursday morning marked a significant number for the school -- the class of 2016 held the school's 1,000th graduate.
Will Bartlett, 17, a salutatorian, followed in his father, Gary Bartlett's, footsteps. Gary was the first person to ever graduate from the school.
At Thursday's ceremony, Gary handed Will his diploma on the stage of the Paramount Theatre in downtown Goldsboro to mark the occasion.
"It was good. It felt different than I thought it would," Will said after Thursday's commencement.
Will said it was only when his father was called to the stage to present his diploma to him that the magnitude of the situation struck him.
"I was really nervous before it happened, even though I knew it would happen," Will said. "I started to get nervous when Mr. (Todd) Anderson (the school's headmaster) called my dad to the stage, but when I got up and started talking I felt better."
Each of the school's graduates was afforded the opportunity to speak before receiving their diploma.
Thursday's commencement marked the first time the school's graduation was not held on school grounds.
Most graduates thanked their family, friends and God for their individual success in graduating from high school.
Of the school's 2016 class, 40 percent will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and 40 percent will attend North Carolina State University, while the remaining 20 percent will attend other schools around the country.
The senior class president, Connor Shaw, presented the senior class gift, a plaque and donation to purchase items for the school's memorial hall in memory of Linda Malpass, an employee of the school for 35 years who died this year.
This was the first graduation since being employed by the school that Ms. Malpass did not attend.
Kate Thompson was the class of 2016's valedictorian, and she shared several quotes and a personal story with the audience.
Her father was diagnosed with bladder cancer in July 2015 and given 18 months to live.
"There's not really a manual for dealing with that. No one even knew if he would be here to see me graduate from high school," she said.
But her father was in the audience on Thursday, and she said his sudden diagnosis gave her a new perspective on the important things in life.
"Suddenly, issues that I used to think were important actually didn't matter that much in the long run. I ignored homework my senior year to play video games with my dad. I did it more than once, too," she said. "School could wait - not forever, of course, but you learn to prioritize. This change forced me to recognize how much time I had spent worrying over minutiae, and how much I missed out on life because of it.
"I haven't said that the little things aren't important -- that's not the point. The point is sometimes you don't realize how much you miss out on because you are so focused on something that isn't as big a deal as you think it is."
Now, with high school behind the fresh graduates, Will plans to follow in his father's footsteps once more and attend UNC-Chapel Hill, just as Gary did.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of Will and his accomplishments," the elder Bartlett said.