Dan River grads stay cool during graduation

Dan River High School’s graduating seniors dodged a bullet by having their commencement inside Averett University’s Convocation Center at the college’s North Campus Saturday afternoon.

Temperatures had already reached the 90s by mid-morning, making the ceremony inside the air-conditioned center downright cool. Graduation speakers talked of long-awaited endings and anxious beginnings in the nearly packed facility, where ticket holders came to see 144 of their loved ones get their diplomas.

“It is time to celebrate accomplishments and the beginning of a new chapter,” Gwendolyn Turner, 2008 senior class president and salutatorian, said at the start of the commencement.

Principal Martin Ringstaff read a poem during his welcome speech, “When Life Throws You a Curve Ball,” and exhorted graduates to rise to life’s challenges and overcome obstacles. He praised graduating senior Dennis Clark as someone who has accomplished that. Clark has been diagnosed with several illnesses throughout his young life, including asthma, hydrocephalus — a buildup of excess fluid in the brain — and a brain tumor, among other conditions.

Some people can become miserable or they can keep a positive outlook on life and radiate opti-mism as Clark did, Ringstaff said.

During her salutatory speech, Turner used painting metaphors to describe the past four years of graduates’ lives.

“Everything in this last four years has added to the array of colors on your canvas,” Turner said.

Pay close attention to impressions you make on others, Turner said. When interacting with people, ask yourself if they’re happier today because they encountered you, she said, reading from a poem.

Valedictorian Matthew Chaney said the days of putting in long hours for extracurricular activi-ties at school are over.

“The world is a much larger place outside of Dan River High School,” he added. “Regardless of what you decide to do with your life, strive to do it well.”

Some see monetary gain, winning trophies or contributing to the world as success, but in the end, success is “what you think it is,” Chaney said. But that doesn’t mean you should lower your ambition, he added.

“Find something you care about and devote yourself wholeheartedly to this endeavor,” Chaney said.

Contact John R. Crane at or 434-791-7987.