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The Vincent Middle High School class of 2018 joins hands and sings the school’s alma mater at the end of their graduation ceremony on May 21. (Reporter Photo/Neal Wagner)

By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

VINCENT – The 68 members of the Vincent Middle High School class of 2018 had plenty of family members filling the stands at the school’s football stadium during the VMHS graduation ceremony on May 21, but over the years, the seniors have also developed a new kind of family.

“It seems like just yesterday that we were starting kindergarten,” said school salutatorian JoHannah Daughdrill. “Little did we know we’d all become so close. We’d be a family.

“Not seeing the same faces I’ve seen every day for the past 13 years will be different,” she added. “I love every member of this class, and the bond we have will be forever.”

The VMHS class of 2018 ended one chapter of their lives during the ceremony, and prepared to enter into a new one, as they joined their classmates for one final event together.

During the ceremony, the VMHS Junior ROTC presented the colors while senior class president Charity Robertson led the Pledge of Allegiance. Senior class sponsor Mary Simms welcomed the crowd to the event, and Daughtrill and valedictorian Braxton Sanders addressed those in attendance with words of advice for their classmates and gratitude to those who had helped them reach the milestone.

“First of all, thanks be to God and his son Jesus Christ who I owe it all to,” Sanders said, also thanking his family members, his teachers and the community. “My friends are my second family. You have made my life so great, and I have developed relationships I will cherish forever.

Sanders based his speech on the Bible verse 2 Timothy 1:7, which reads “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Addressing his classmates, Sanders encouraged them to live their lives fearlessly.

“The buck stops here,” Sanders said. “As you leave here tonight, I encourage you to embrace fearlessness in your lives.”

VMHS Principal Dr. Michele Edwards said the event was the culmination of years of hard work on the graduates’ behalf, and said the school was “rejoicing” along with the students and their family members.

“Tonight, the love of a school, a family and a community comes together to make our greatest product: You,” Edwards told the graduates.

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