DAPHNE, Ala. — There wasn’t an empty seat at Daphne High School’s Jubilee Stadium Tuesday night as proud parents, friends and family members of Daphne High School’s Class of 2011 gathered in the arena to witness the culmination of the students’ high school careers.

In all, 253 students received their diplomas on the football field while wearing purple robes to match the school colors.

Principal Meredith Foster and individuals with the highest GPA touted the class of 2011’s many accomplishments.

“Tonight is a big night. You saw the seniors process past their teachers towards their seats as a symbolic rite of passage into the next stage. This ritual and their mutual experiences here now serve as a common thread in the tapestry of their lives,” Foster said. “While graduation may seem like an ending of sorts, the word commencement means beginning. It is in the spirit of moving forward and reaching new heights that we approach the exciting times in the lives of these students and our school.”

The class’ accomplishments were scattered across many disciplines. The Trojans football team earned a state championship, and many of DHS’s other athletic teams — including girls and boys soccer, cross country and volleyball, along with individuals from the swim, track and tennis teams — played in final matches for a state title. The school’s academic achievements were also on display. Students involved in the International Baccalaureate program received diplomas, which were earned by taking college-level courses.

The senior class earned more than $8 million in college scholarships for academic and athletic excellence. (Editor’s Note: See senior class awards on Page 12A.)

Lessons learned

The International Baccalaureate Distinction valedictorian, Michael Robert Miskovski, advised his classmates to remember their Trojan spirit and the sense of community Daphne High School represented as they journey out into the world.

“So, now, graduating from high school, we must mature and we must rise to the challenge, and most of all, we must remember the innate human kindness that resides in each and every one of us, for we are all brothers and sisters. The story of our youth and childhood is coming full-circle. We were born to the home and now we must leave it. This is the part where we, to paraphrase Mark Twain, must become civilized, yet we move on to the unexplored frontier,” Miskovski said.

The International Baccalaureate Distinction salutatorian, Kenneth Rainer Corley has many memories from high school, but he said the most important thing he learned is to grow and change.

“I suppose this is maturity: experimenting, learning and changing our ways. We should all look back on high school as the place where our philosophies grew and where we became who we are today,” Corley said. “Realize that in a few years these moments with our friends will be the most distinct and powerful things we will be able to recall from this time and that they’re undoubtedly our greatest achievements in high school.”

Honors valedictorian, Lindsay Brooke Brown, spoke of the great potential of her class and the choices that lie ahead.

“In the next few years, we will be making decisions that will not only impact our lives, but the lives around us. The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but is in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively,” Brown said.

“But, I want to ask each one of you, how are you going to make your impact? How will you make this world a better place for all who inhabit it?

“As long as each person sitting behind me moves forward in following their dreams with raw passion, then you will see some of the finest doctors, lawyers, chefs, artists, athletes, writers and soldiers that this world will have ever known.”

(Staff video by Shea Zirlott; edited by Thomas Boni)

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