References to WWE wrestling and delivering a punch to the gut figured prominently during Mount Airy High School’s graduation program — with speakers not advocating violence through those remarks, but using them to make important points about life.
Experiences involving siblings were the basis for such comments by Senior Class President Ian Gallimore and Valedictorian Kinlee Reece during their respective addresses for Saturday morning’s commencement exercises at Wallace Shelton Stadium.
Pleasant temperatures and sunny skies ruled then, helping to draw a huge crowd to witness an announced total of 156 seniors receive coveted diplomas and hear class leaders talk about the ups and downs of the journey that got them there.
Which is where the WWE and gut-punch references emerged.
“How do I write a speech for 156 people?” Gallimore said he asked himself last fall upon learning, after being selected class president, that giving one would be a requirement come graduation time.
Some research revealed that previous commencement speakers had relied on tactics such as being funny, with talking about people they know and telling stories about them also used at times.
Gallimore chose to relate to Saturday’s assemblage how he and his brother Landon grew up watching matches staged by the WWE organization and how they conducted their own bouts with each other.
They used this as a way to get attention around ages 5 or 6, including at their grandmother’s home when company came to visit on a notable occasion. At one point, the boys came out wearing nothing but their underwear to put on a wrestling show.
“To this day, every time I see my grandma’s friend I am reminded of that story,” Gallimore said during Saturday’s address of one person’s reminiscence.
“We chose to do a WWE match because that’s what we love,” the class president added, acknowledging that listeners might wonder why he would even tell such a story — which was quickly explained.
Make decisions based on “what we love,” Gallimore said in offering parting words for classmates.
His observation set up one later in the graduation program by Reece, the valedictorian, concerning her sister.
While describing that person as a best friend, Reece mentioned one episode during their childhood when she was prompted to punch her sibling “right in the gut” and was left wondering whether this had been worth the fallout resulting.
This offers a lesson for the Class of 2024: “We sometimes have to take life and punch it right in the gut,” Reece said.
“College, the work force and the military all seem scary — but I know we can do it,” she vowed, using the knowledge, experience and preparation gained at Mount Airy High School.
“Our possibilities are endless, Class of 2024.”
“As graduates, we do not know everything,” said Lillie Morris, another student, who delivered the salutatory address Saturday.
“But we do know a lot,” she said, agreeing that the seniors’ time at MAHS has been quite worthwhile.
“We have learned what we need to continue our blessed lives,” Morris advised. “Most importantly, we know how to love.”
“Our class has accomplished a lot, both in the classroom and through athletics,” said Gallimore, the senior class president, who was the quarterback for the Bears football team that won its second-straight state championship in December.
Those accomplishments were verified by stats supplied Saturday by Alicia Henson, school counselor, who said 86 percent of the graduates plan to continue their education at two- or four-year colleges.
Six percent are joining the military and 10 percent will enter the work world.
Such ingredients signal a bright future, which Morris, the salutatorian, punctuated with a spirited statement of encouragement to the departing seniors:
“Let’s go out and fill this world with life.”
Diplomas were awarded by Dr. Phillip Brown, superintendent of Mount Airy City Schools, and MAHS Assistant Principal Maggie Mitchell, with members of the faculty presenting yellow roses to each graduate as he or she came through.
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