Seventeen seniors received their high-school diplomas Friday during Faith Baptist Christian Academy’s senior commencement ceremony in Ludowici. Three students delivered speeches to the packed church.
Honor graduate Bridgette Nicole Rogers spoke first and thanked her family, church family and friends for their support during her time at FBCA. She tearfully credited her friend and class salutatorian Lauren Taylor Crutchfield for always being there for her. Rogers wrapped up her speech by wishing her classmates well.
“As we leave here tonight, I pray that we will always make the right decisions and trust the Lord,” she said.
Crutchfield, who graduated with a 3.91 grade-point average, followed her friend. She said that when she was younger, she wanted to go to FBCA because of its nice playground. After attending the school for two weeks, though, she changed her mind and begged her mother not to make her go back. Fortunately, Crutchfield’s mother encouraged her daughter to stick it out and remain a Crusader.
Crutchfield told her classmates that God has a plan for each of them.
“What an exciting thing it is to know that God has a plan for all of us … God has good things planned for us, and He will direct our paths,” she said.
The final student to speak was valedictorian Sara Elizabeth Goodson, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Goodson also shed tears during her speech as she thanked her parents, grandparents and other family members for the support she received as a student. She also told her classmates that her high-school experience was much more than she ever imagined it could be. Goodson challenged her classmates to be productive Christians as they enter adulthood.
“Don’t forget what we have learned here at FBCA — the Lord has a plan for each of us,” she said.
Following the three students, Pastor Terry Sellars addressed the graduates and told them that they had spent 2,160 days in school and 15,120 hours in class. He said that graduating from high school is a major accomplishment, but it’s only the beginning for them. He said that just as God told Moses and his people to go forward toward the Red Sea with Pharaoh and the Egyptians behind them, they, too, must now go forward. Sellars said the new graduates should remember the three P’s — position, progression and provision. He instructed them to always know where they are in their walk with Christ, have righteous goals in their life and trust God to direct their paths.
After Sellars finished, he and school Principal Earl Kicklighter presented diplomas to the students.
This year’s graduates also include honor graduates Chelsea Turner, Kirk Hill Jr., Bre’ana Hannah, Reagan Jarrett, Dennis Adams III; graduates Brandon Bell, Caleb Bell, Derek Carter, Corbett DeLoach, James Frazier, Brittany Hall, Ciara Wine; and prep-school graduates Marquis Chandler Jr. and Jerry Owens Jr.