The 242 graduates of Bassett High School’s (BHS) Class of 2024 were reminded on Saturday, May 25, that, “Being a Bengal means showing resilience in the phase of adversity.”
Tiffany Gravely, principal, also noted the unique challenges the class faced.
After entering the ninth grade in the middle of a pandemic, “You demonstrated grit and determination to be in this position today. Being a Bengal means you’re courageous and bold.”
Noting that the class had received $2 million in scholarships, Gravely said, “being a Bengal means having ambition and drive. Your accomplishments at Bassett High School over the last four years are symbolic of what it means to be a Bengal,” she said of state recognitions the class earned in BETA, FFA, JROTC, Track, Wrestling, and Band.
“Martin Luther King JR. once said, ‘If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward,” she said, adding that she has been a Bengal for 19 years and knows what it takes to roar with courage and to keep moving forward. “I charge you to always remember what it means to be a Bengal.”
“You started your initial days as Bengals without the typical first days of being freshmen,” Anthony Hairston, senior class president, said. “You went from the traditional in-person classes to the pandemic-required virtual classrooms.”
Hairston compared the change to going from watching Disney’s “Doc Stuffin” as a young child to watching the “Barbie” movie as a teenager, and added the difference in their first year was “just insane.”
All the more reason that “as you accept your diploma and turn your tassels, hold onto these famous words by the poet Maya Angelou ‘Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it,’” Hairston said, adding that graduates will choose what success represents. In so doing, he urged the class to celebrate its current success.
“I encourage you all to remain successful in loving yourself first, embracing what you do, and liking how you do it,” he said, and reminded the class that it can endure anything.
“This is a conquer chapter. Now turn the page and don’t be afraid, for the plans for your life have certainly been made. Look at you. It’s your time to rise,” Hairston said.
“The Class of 2024 had to constantly overcome being one step behind, but we kept swimming,” Aliviah Fulcher said, and compared the class’s struggles to Dory’s catchphrase, “Just keep swimming,” from “Finding Nemo.”
Fulcher noted that the class had no idea how much it would have in common with the fictional character as children, and emphasized the feelings of loss when entering their sophomore year due to the pandemic.
“We entered our sophomore year not knowing who we were or where we were,” she said, and the class always felt like it was one step behind due to the online classes.
“Let’s face it, (in our) freshmen and sophomore years, we were all facing a serious identity crisis,” Fulcher said, and recalled that questions about their plans after graduation terrified them.
“Why were we being asked this question so early? Unlike students in normal years, we had just arrived at Bassett for our true freshmen year,” Fulcher said. “As we now know, our world can be shut down and turned around in the blink of an eye, so even though we may have a plan, we should accept the realization that life has riptides that pull us in an unwanted direction.”
She reminded the class that it can always ask for help, and urged her classmates to keep in touch with one another.
Above all, “I want you all to remember one thing, just keep swimming,” Fulcher said.
“As I look out into the field of blue, I see individuals, each with their own hobby, passion, set of ideals, and goals. I see each of you,” said Jenny Castro-Bermudez.
“The Class of 2024 is one. However, within this field of blue exists 242 completely unique individuals. Even though we are almost mirror images of one another, this likeness is only what can be seen from the outside. To see our uniqueness, one must look inside the blue,” she said, and talked about how her days in the band playing the flute helped her grow.
“As I look out into the field of blue, I see individuals, each with their own hobby, passion, set of ideals, and goals. I see each of you,” Castro-Bermudez said, acknowledging how each member of the class has grown and changed, while urging her class members to take a look at themselves as they moved forward.
“As each of you moves toward your destiny, always make sure to take time to look at you,” she said. “Each one of us will always identify as a member of the Bassett High School Class of 2024, yet that is only one of the labels that make up the whole of our unique individual self. Always remember to take time to look at you, to look at your uniqueness, know that unquestionably there is not and never will be another you.”
Alexia Martin performed “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. The Class of 2024’s gift to current and future students was new picnic tables for the senior courtyard. These tables will be available for the class of 2025 and onwards to use.
