Godwin HS graduation: 'We spent a year and a half on the sidelines, and now it's our game'

“Through our difficulties, we've been forced to find strength in ourselves and in those around us, because at times, it's been seemingly impossible to find it elsewhere,” Mills E. Godwin High School graduate Ethan Vest told classmates during the school’s graduation ceremony at Richmond Raceway Wednesday.

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Difficulties for the graduating Class of 2021 transcended expected hardships that accompany navigating high school. Not only did the graduates adjust to remote learning during the global pandemic, but experienced a loss of one of their own. During their junior year of high school, the Eagles learned how to cope with the death of Tim Board, who was honored during the graduation ceremony by the school’s Principal Leigh Dunavant.

“I have been especially impressed with you during this challenging year,” Dunavant said during the ceremony. “You have stayed the course and have achieved your goals for which you deserve recognition and praise.”

Fellow Class of 2021 graduate Grace Killius acknowledged the tribulations surrounding the unconventional year and urged her peers to seize opportunities when they present themselves, declaring this “our time to get out and experience life.”

“We need to collectively stop saying that we'll just wait until tomorrow,” Killius said. “I encourage you, please, do not wait. We spent a year and a half on the sidelines, and now it's our game.”