Murphy – The Class of 2021’s spirits weren’t dampened even with Murphy High School’s ceremony being pushed back an hour due to inclement weather in the area.
The class graduated as a light rain fell over Bob Hendrix Memorial Stadium. Family and friends crowded under umbrellas to stay dry.
“As the fifth-grade sock hop turned into the senior prom and rec league practices turned into state championships, it’s no wonder that the years went by so fast,” career and technical honor graduate Chloe Decker said. “From the creative writers to the future builders to the talented musicians to the aspiring chefs and to all of those in between, your best qualities are yet to be on full display.”
Summa Cum Laude graduate Lauren Turner told her classmates to cherish the memories they shared over their four years at Murphy High.
“Much like the four quarters in a football game, each symbolizes a year full of memorable moments shared within our class,” Turner said. “Not only have the past four years shaped our class as a whole, but they have also shaped us into the people who stand here today.”
She recalled the class’ experience with COVID-19, with parts of their junior and senior years being conducted by virtual learning.
“We are faced with the fact that our high school career was only the beginning, and not our championship game,” Turner said. “We will have many more challenges to face in the future. I encourage you to draw upon our high school experience to help overcome the obstacles and push forward to achieve your goals.
“Class of 2021, we did it. We won this game called high school.”
The ceremony ended with the class, as well as Murphy High faculty setting off poppers that launched confetti into the air before falling back into procession to leave the stadium.
Twin brothers, Collin and Kenneth Parker, spoke about the experience of going through four years of high school together.
“It makes it 10 times better,” Kenneth Parker said. “Having another person there and everybody cheering you on because of the sole fact that you’re twins, it’s awesome.”
The Parker brothers will attend the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, with Kenneth studying criminal justice and Collin studying business.
“I didn’t think we’d be able to do this, like an actual ceremony or anything, so it was a pretty good privilege to be able to do this unlike last year,” Collin Parker said.