As the clock ticked closer to 7 p.m. on Friday, the air buzzed with excitement as the Carter High School graduates waited in anticipation.
For many of the 28 graduates at Carter — the county’s high school for students with special needs — the road to Friday evening’s graduation had been long and hard, but that only made the victory even sweeter, parent Janet Blank said.
As her daughter, Lizzie, rolled into the room in her wheelchair, she looked happier than Blank had ever seen her, she said.
“We can’t believe this day is finally here,” Blank said. “It’s a happy moment because she made it, but so sad because that was my baby.”
For all the graduates in the county, Carter’s graduation speaker, Bryan Dooley had the same message: Be brave and follow your dreams.
“It probably feels like you’re leaving a very supportive place and you don’t know what to do next, but don’t be afraid,” his computer intoned. “Always persevere, which means sticking with it even when it gets hard.”
Dooley, who has cerebral palsy, used a computer system to read out his speech. Like many of the graduates, Dooley has had his fair share of challenges that tested his perseverance, he said.
A graduate of Guilford College, Dooley has always had an affinity for writing, he said, but in high school was told he couldn’t participate in the school’s newspaper because of the physical demands of the reporting it required.
To prove to a teacher and — most importantly — to himself, that he could do it, Dooley spent all of Christmas break working on an article that earned him a spot as a staff writer at the paper. He now works as a columnist for the Camel City Dispatch.
“Imagine where I would today if I had listened to that well-meaning teacher who told me I couldn’t do it,” Dooley said. “Graduates: investigate your dreams and focus on what you can do, not what you can’t.”
Graduate Aisha Barnes plans to do just that. Next year, she will pursue her dream of higher education by attending Forsyth Technical Community College .
Although learning has always been challenging for Barnes, who is legally blind, the message to never give up rings true, her mother, Stephanie Drummond, said.
“For Aisha, this day is five years in the making and we’re proud of her for being an inspiration to her fellow students and for all she has overcome,” Drummond said. “Today is an ending, but tomorrow is a new beginning.”
And with new beginnings comes new possibilities for many of the students.
Graduate Kirby Moore, 22, will transition to the Enrichment Center, which helps adults with disabilities pursue art, education and employment, after a six-year journey at Carter.
Although he has autism, he has always persevered and never faltered in his dream to pursue music, his mother, Beverly Moore said.
“He had a wonderful teacher here at Carter that brought out the best in him and helped him capture his passion,” she said. “We are going to miss this school terribly, but we couldn’t be more prouder of our son and the other graduates.”
Principal Donna Horton echoed her sentiments, commending the graduates for their hard work over the years and for being one of the most inspiring and notable groups of students she has seen.
“I’ve never been as proud of a class of young people or as sad to lose them as these graduates,” Principal Donna Horton said. “They are all remarkable young men and women, and we will miss them for years to come.”
Originally posted on the Winston-Salem Journal
