Palatka graduates stride toward future | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

A group of graduates takes a selfie Friday night after the Palatka Junior-Senior High School commencement ceremony.
Friends gather inside the gym adjacent to Bennett-Cooper Field before the Palatka Junior-Senior High School graduation ceremony.
Lauren Hall, right, attends her graduation in Palatka days after being injured in a car crash.
A Palatka High senior flashes the peace sign after receiving her diploma Friday night.
Graduates grasp each other during Palatka High’s commencement ceremony Friday night.
An overjoyed graduate waves to family and friends after receiving her diploma Friday night.
Palatka Junior-Senior High School seniors grasp their diplomas as they celebrate their graduation during Friday night’s commencement ceremony.
Positively Putnam FL

Bennett-Cooper Field was awash in blue and gold Friday night as the Palatka Junior-Senior High School class of 2022 had its graduation ceremony.

The first crop of students to graduate from the newly formed junior-senior high school had more to celebrate than previous classes.

Superintendent Rick Surrency commended graduates for adapting to occurrences – merging middle and high schools as well as a pandemic that shut down in-person schooling months before the end of the 2019-2020 school year – no one saw coming when they began high school four years ago.

“I wish to commend each of you for the perseverance you have shown during your high school years,” Surrency said. “Thank you for showing such perseverance as you reach your goals.”

Kendell Cheatham, the graduating class vice president, agreed, saying she never could have imagined freshman year what the next four years would have in store.

However, despite whatever academic, personal or health challenges presented themselves, she said, everyone on the field met those obstacles head-on. And for that, they all deserve a round of applause, Cheatham said.

“Everyone sitting on this field has accomplished a huge milestone in their lives,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how you got here, but you’re here.”

Palatka High Principal J.T. Stout congratulated students, saying some arrived at graduation with high honors, while others got out of high school “by the skin of your teeth.”

No matter how they made it, Stout said, he encouraged them to continue setting goals for the rest of their lives and to work hard to accomplish them.

“Your high school days are over, but this is the beginning of the rest of your life,” he said. “It is time to set new goals. That work ethic will take you places in life that you didn’t even know were possible.”