TIFTON — A new generation of Tift County High School students said farewell to high school days and took the first steps toward the next saga in their lives as they celebrated graduation May 20.

Tift County Schools bid farewell to students with a ceremony held on their home turf of Brodie Field, congratulating them on the culmination of all their hard work and wishing them luck in the future. Friends, family and loved ones filled the stadium.

Graduates awaited the moment they could toss their caps into the air, listening to words of thanks, encouragement and reminiscence by fellow students joining them in taking that next step.

STAR student Jozef Abantao took the stage first, delivering an address recollecting the countless precious memories he had forged during his time at TCHS and encouraging his classmates to think back on their memories but reminding them that it was but one chapter in the grand story of their lives and there was so much left for them to write.

However, he asked them to focus on celebrating themselves that day. Abantao suspected that some of the graduates did not think of the ceremony as being that large of a milestone or were too hung up on the past or future, and while he assured them their views were valid, he encouraged them to set those thoughts aside and take the day to think about themselves as a reward for making it to this day.

He implored his fellow graduates to take that mindset of celebration with them into the future, reminding them that once they left the stadium, they would be entering the real world, and the challenges would only become tougher from there. He said they would inevitably face failure along whatever road they took but encouraged them to celebrate both their successes and failures along the way.

“Do not shy away from challenges but rather face them head on, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad,” Abantao said. “By learning to face the world with positivity, you can truly achieve more, and enjoy every moment of the life you have now.”

Salutatorian Gwyneth Conner admitted she had found it challenging to put her treasured experiences at TCHS into words and expressed how honored she felt to be a part of and representing the 2023 graduating class.

She recounted how she and no doubt many students from the past had been so excited to reach graduation as far back as freshman year, but that the event now rang bittersweet because, in taking that step, they were leaving behind the school, its teachers and many of the friends they had made along the way.

Conner reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically shook up the Class of 2023’s freshman year but had created a learning experience allowing many of her classmates to find the strength to face unexpected change and keep pushing ahead. She encouraged her fellow graduates to take that same courage and determination, as well as the memories they had made at TCHS, and let them serve as a guide through the next part of their lives.

“As we continue on the next chapter of our lives, let us cherish the relationships we have formed with each other, the lessons we have learned and the fond memories we have made during our time in high school,” Conner said. “These memories will help shape and guide us as we navigate through the rest of our lives.”

Finally, in his valedictory address, Neel Patel reminded his classmates of the importance of failure, assuring them that it isn’t a consequence to be feared but a lesson to be learned.

He assured each and every graduate that failure would be inevitable, noting that many of the most prominent figures in history had failed numerous times, but that accepting their failure and learning from it, they could catapult themselves into success. Patel urged the graduating class to no longer view failure as a foe but to embrace it like they would a friend.

“There are going to be those times where failing can be disheartening and challenging,” Patel said. “But it is through those experiences that we learn some of our most important life lessons and learn to get back up.”

Patel also asked his classmates to offer their gratitude to those in their lives who had supported or motivated them, saying each graduate had to have at least one person who had helped them along the way and deserved to be thanked.

TCHS Principal Dr. Chad Stone presented the graduating seniors to Tift County School Superintendent Adam Hathaway and the members of the Tift County Board of Education, who gladly accepted them and endorsed the distribution of their diplomas.

Dr. Mike Chason, public relations director emeritus at ABAC, announced the names of the graduates as they approached the stage to receive their diplomas, beginning with Patel, Conner and Abantao, then working down the student body alphabetically through superior honor students, graduating with a grade point average of 95 or higher, honor students, graduating with a GPA of 90 or higher, etc.

When the last name was declared and the last diploma distributed, Stone took the stage again to present the graduating class of 2023 to their loved ones in the stands.

Tassels were turned, caps were thrown, confetti cannons were fired, and loved ones swarmed the field as the now official graduates of Tift County High School celebrated the end of their four years with the school and the start of the newest chapter in their stories.