Spain Park Class of 2016 probably is most celebrated in school's history, principal says

With the flip of tassles and the tossing of caps, Spain Park High School sent 390 seniors in the Class of 2016 onto their next chapter in life tonight.

Family and friends nearly filled the Pete Hanna Center at Samford University for the graduation ceremony for what Spain Park Principal Larry Giangrosso said is probably the most celebrated senior class in the school’s history.

Of the 390 seniors, 249 (64 percent) were offered scholarships totaling more than $24 million, said Tracy Prater, Spain Park’s college and career specialist.

They accepted about $8.5 million of those scholarships and are headed to 40 colleges and universities in 35 states and four countries, Prater said.

Three members of the Class of 2016 are headed into the military, including one who received a prestigious appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, Prater said. That makes Spain Park the high school in the country with the most graduates currently enrolled in the Naval Academy, he said.

The Class of 2016 had a National Merit Scholar, seven other finalists and a ninth student who was a semifinalist, Prater said. There also are two U.S. Presidential Scholar nominees from Spain Park, and 20 seniors signed letters of intent to play sports in college, he said.

Giangrosso told the seniors that expectations for them will change now that they have graduated. They will be asked to do three very important tasks, he said. First, society will ask them to become an advocate for themselves, he said.

“No longer will they expect or allow your parents or anyone else to be your advocate,” Giangrosso said. “It will be up to you to make decisions and choices and to live with the outcomes of those decisions and choices. You will decide where to work, where to live, who to marry and how to live your life. The responsibility will be solely on your shoulders.”

Second, Giangrosso told the students their parents and teachers will ask them to solve the problems they couldn’t solve, right the wrongs they couldn’t right and care for them in their old age.

Third, the generation that these graduates will later bring into the world will ask them to provide the tools, morals, integrity, work ethic and education they need to solve the problems that the Class of 2016 can’t solve and to right the wrongs that the Class of 2016 can’t right and to take care of the Class of 2016 when they get old, he said.

“The tasks before you are great. The tasks before you will be challenging and sometimes will seem insurmountable, but you who sit before us tonight will accomplish these tasks,” Giangrosso said. “It is my belief that you will become the next ‘greatest generation.’”

Discovering identities

Spain Park valedictorian Will Haynes, who is headed to Auburn University, said 3.2 million other seniors will be graduating this year as well, but the commonality of the diploma they will receive in no way detracts from its value.

“There are very few things more valuable than the transformation it signifies,” Haynes said.

Throughout high school, they gained a lot of knowledge which can seem pointless if seen only as a bunch of useless facts and figures that hold little light in their everyday lives, Haynes said.

“Although the individual acts of memorizing Shakespeare, studying the history of the Civil War and analyzing derivatives have had a small impact on who we are as a people, collectively, they have helped us develop a more mature outlook on life and discover our own individual identities, and that is what high school has really been about,” he said.

Their high school careers have been strikingly similar to the U.S. presidential race this year, Haynes said.

 “It started out a little awkward, but eventually we found our footing, defied all odds, and through a strong and unique attitude ended up making it to the top,” he said. “However, unlike with the presidential candidates, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Class of 2016 will make America great again.”

Haynes encouraged his classmates to strive for humility and remember that much of the good that comes to them in life is not because they are brilliant, strategic or have the perfect plan, but because they have had parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches and mentors who have made them who they are today.

He also encouraged them to seek wisdom more than knowledge — “a wisdom that is bigger than our opinions, our narrow perspectives, and our tendency to see only what we are looking for rather than the many dimensions of true reality.”

Finally, Haynes advised them, no matter what jobs or passions they pursue, to live a life of love because love is what is real and what lasts.

Beating Hoover in football

Quinton Hoffman, one of two salutatorians for Spain Park’s Class of 2016, said their senior year was filled with so many great memories, including homecoming activities, dances, the Battle of the Sexes competition, the senior prom and some awesome pep rallies.

But “most importantly, we are the first class to beat Hoover at football, and we did it not once, but twice,” Hoffman said to hearty applause from the audience.

From the food fight in the cafeteria their freshman year to the basketball games and many activities with the career academies, theater, choir and band, they had a lot of fun at school, Hoffman said.

However, the best thing of all is the impact they have had on each other, he said.

“We had each others’ backs,” he said. “It’s the coming together for a common cause … It’s the relationships we have made with each other.”

Hoffman, who is going to Vanderbilt University, challenged his classmates to think about the impact they want to make in the world. “Find something that makes life worth living and chase after it wholeheartedly,” he said.

Zoe Ann Shore, the other salutatorian (headed to the University of Utah), said she’s not really sure what graduation means yet and doesn’t know that many of the seniors do, “but I can just feel it’s one of those moments that somehow belongs to us.”

She thanked her family for giving her moments of laughter and love, her friends for being there when she needed them, the Spain Park teachers for giving students a place to learn, laugh, cry and make so many memories, and her mentor and coach, Michael Zelwak, for showing her the things that really matter in life. Finally, she thanked God for “giving me everything.”

'Find joy in the journey'

Andrew Perry, the senior class president on his way to Auburn University, shared several lessons he has learned.

His sister, Kayla, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer at age 18 in 2013 and has taught him that’s it’s important to be strong and courageous in the face of difficult circumstances, he said.

Second, he has learned that “people change, friends grow apart, and both of those things are OK.” It’s hard to say goodbye to friends, but “everything happens for a reason and there’s a bigger plan for our lives,” Perry said. “Everybody has a different path to follow.”

Third, Perry said a line in an Avett Brothers song has a lot of truth: “Always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name.” For him, that means he treasures the love in his family.

Fourth, Perry encouraged his classmates to find joy in the journey of life, even in the troubles. “We take the bad, and we transform it into something good,” he said. “The good and the bad work together to make something great.”

Lastly, Perry said the most important thing to do in life is love instead of spending time hating or being indifferent.

“I think the best thing you can do for someone is love them,” he said. “If you do love someone, you better let them know before it’s too late.”

This article was updated at 10:08 a.m. on May 26 with information about the colleges to which the student leaders are headed.