Pitt County Schools Early College High School graduates were awarded their high school diplomas last week, about two weeks after some experienced their college commencement.
Fifty-seven seniors and super-seniors turned the tassel during graduation exercises May 23 at the Greenville Convention Center. Thirty-five of them had been recognized May 7 among students having earned associate’s degrees from Pitt Community College.
Thursday’s ceremony was the first of nine Pitt County Schools graduations scheduled through June 8.
Members of the Class of 2024 were not the only ones to bid farewell to PCS Early College High School. Principal Emeritus Wynn Whittington, who had led the school since its launch in 2015, took the stage for one final commencement address.
“Thank you for your legacy of success,” Whittington, who resigned earlier this spring to accept an assistant superintendent position in Jones County, told students. “I am humbled and honored to have served as your principal.”
More than half of the nearly five dozen graduates were honors graduates, nine summa cum laude, four magna cum laude and 11 cum laude.
Addressing her classmates, summa cum laude graduate Ruckira Nixon said their high school experience was anything but ordinary.
“Four or five years ago, we all started our early college journey in the midst of an ongoing pandemic,” said Nixon, who plans to continue her education in the Honors College at East Carolina University, where she has been named a Brinkley-Lane Scholar. “The start of this journey was through computer screens, face masks and not knowing what the next few years had in store for us.
“We persevered through a pandemic, life changes, social indifferences and many other factors that could have prevented us from savoring this moment.”
Caleb Spruill, who plans to enter ECU Honors College as a Chancellor’s Fellow, said that after four or five years of college-level coursework, graduates should take time to enjoy the moment.
“I’ve come to understand that hard work is not only about the destination you are wishing to reach,” said Spruill, a summa cum laude graduate. “It is about the journey and the growth you experience along the way.”
Whittington also reflected on his nine-year journey with the school, telling graduates and others attending the ceremony that education is one of the hardest and one of the most rewarding jobs there is.
“In this business of education, things continue to evolve, and every year there are different program, curriculums, initiatives etc., that schools and systems buy into, and we’ve certainly bought into our fair share,” he said. “But our goal since this program’s inception has been to to buy into people. We’ll take people over programs any day.
“The key to it all was building a culture in our school where you felt loved, cared for and heard,” Whittington said. “That’s how school is done.”
Reciting a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” Whittington encouraged graduates to also invest in their families and communities.
He said that even before graduation, students have demonstrated that are doing just that. Many have exceeded the school’s requirement of 100 hours of volunteer service, giving their time to area churches and Boys and Girls Clubs, food pantries and the local animal shelter.
“You’ve endured so much adversity during the pandemic, but you’ve reached that finish line,” Whittington said, adding that full scholarships and jobs await many of the graduates. “Your lives are forever changed, and so are ours by having you in this program.”
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