001Hello. Hello. Hello. test. Ladies and gentlemen, graduation will begin in 7 minutes. Please find your seat by 7 o' I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world. Goodbye. Tell What was really special about me all the world out 10 But I don't know. I sat down on the street where you going to ground out. Let's see how we all end. I guess we're going at home. It was cool. It was just cool. Now it's over and It's overone. It's allone. There's no one there's no one at home. It was just cool. Now it's over and it's over. I believe it all is coming to an end. I guess we've Let's see how we see how far we come. Let's see how far we go. Let's see how far we come. Beautiful.
002Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the entry of school district dignitaries and the graduation class of 2026. Heat. Heat. Please be seated. Welcome to the class of 2026 Hazel Park Advantage graduation ceremony. Tonight we are celebrating this wonderful milestone that is monumental in the lives of these young adults. I'm excited that each parent, guardian, family member, friend, board of education member, administrator, teacher, and especially each soon to be graduate is here to join us. Please join me with applause as I would like to welcome and thank the Hazel Park Board of Education for their support. Thank you. This evening, I would like to recognize and express appreciation for the continued leadership of our superintendent, Dr. Amy Wilcox, Dr. Stephanie Dolmage, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and Dr. Megan Papazian Broadwell, executive director of student
003services. I would also like to recognize express gratitude to the Hazel Park Advantage staff members who are present here tonight. Each of you deserve praise because your efforts help our students reach this pinnacle. The work that you put in all year should be commended and tonight's and make tonight's celebration possible. Thank you. And last but not least, congratulations to the class of 2026. >> We are proud of you and your accomplishments on your journey. You endured COVID, remote and in-person learning, and attended school and masks. In addition, each of you have had your own personal challenges. However, you all managed to focus on your academics enough to reach this important milestone. I'm certain that I am not alone when I say you should be praised for your resilience. At this time, I would like to
004introduce to you tonight's distinguished speaker, Hazel Park School Superintendent, Dr. Amy Wilcox. Good evening board members, staff, family, community members, honored guests, and most importantly, the Advantage Alternative class of 2026. Tonight begins one of the very best times of the year, the season when we gather and honor and celebrate our graduates. There are simply no words that can fully describe the immense pride and emotion I feel as your superintendent standing before you tonight, seeing each of you here, ready to close one chapter of your life and begin the next. I'm truly fortunate to be able to speak to you with my deepest admiration for each and every one of you. More importantly, I hope you know how deeply you are cared for and valued by your staff, families, and people sitting here tonight. Your journeys
005have not looked the same. And for many of you, the road to this moment was not easy. Yet, you're here. You made it. And that alone deserves to be celebrated. Tonight we celebrate something truly special. The perseverance, strength, and determination of the advantage alternative class of 2026 graduates. As your journey has not been easy, you faced obstacles, setbacks, challenge, and moments where giving up may have seemed easier than continuing forward. Life can be hard. There will always be moments of uncertainty, disappointment, and struggle. But what matters most is not the hardship itself. It's how you walk through it. It is the courage that you keep going, that you learn from challenges and continue to believe in yourself even when it's difficult. And that is exactly what each of you have done. You showed resilience. You
006kept going. You chose to persevere even when the road was difficult. That strength is something no one can ever take away from you. One of the greatest privileges of my role as superintendent has been watching many of you to grow through these struggles and now walk across that stage tonight. I remember visits to my office, the conversations, the high fives in the hallways, the hugs, the moments that you came even when it was hard. Those moments matter. They are reminders of relationships, encouragement, and believing that in one another you can help change lives. At Advantage, we know success does not always come in a straight line. Sometimes success looks like getting back up after falling down. Sometimes it looks like asking for help, showing kindness to others, or believing in yourself even when it feels
007uncertain. Every step you took brought you here tonight. As you walk across this stage, remember that graduation is not just the ending of one chapter. It's the beginning of a new one. A new beginning filled with opportunities, hopes, and possibilities. The past doesn't define your future. Your smakes mistakes do not define who you are. What defines you is your courage to continue moving forward. You can be anything. Leaders, parents, business owners, teachers, artists, welders, nurses, mentors. You can build a future that reflects your dreams and your purposes. The world needs you, your talents, your stories, your kindness, and your perseverance. Never underestimate the power of kindness. In a world that can seem difficult, kindness changes lives. A kind word or a helping hand or believing in someone who feels unseen can make all the difference.
008Carry this wherever you go. Graduates, I want you to know that we all believe in you. We are proud of you. We are encouraged by your future and excited all that is ahead of you. I know that each and every one of you has the ability to be successful as you move forward in life because you've already proven that you can overcome challenges and you can always move forward. Be proud of yourself. You earned this moment. And as you walk across the stage, walking with confidence, knowing that this is your new beginning, walk knowing that your future is still being written and you have the power to be extraordinary. Congratulations, class 2026. Your story has just begun. Good evening. My name is Monnique Mc Merry, the dean of students here at Advantage School and it
009has been rewarding to say the least. This evening, I have the privilege of introducing a student whose journey is a powerful reminder of what growth truly looks like. When we talk about growth, we often think about grades or achievements. But real growth goes much deeper. It's about showing up when things are hard. It's about learning from our mistakes, pushing through our challenges, and becoming stronger because of them. Over time, we've watched him face obstacles with. while everyone else around you seemed to know how to swim. I believe it was my freshman year when things really started to change for me. Life started moving faster and I was beginning to understand th certain things that had never really occurred to me at that time. Pressure started feeling heavier and somewhere along the way I lost confidence
010in myself. It felt like everyone had things figured out while I was still trying to find my ground. After a while, something happens to you when you can't keep up. You start feeling like a person with without potential. You start feeling like a mistake that keeps repeating itself. People see missed days, missing assignments, missing credits, but they don't see the nights you spend staring at the ceiling, knowing the world will keep moving tomorrow, whether you can keep up with it or not. They don't see how embarrassing it feels to watch everyone move forward while you're stuck frozen in place. They don't see how lonely it is to feel disconnected from your own future. There were times I kind of convinced myself I was too far gone, too different, too behind, too broken to ever catch
011up. And I think what hurts the most about struggling isn't even the struggle itself. It's watching yourself become someone you barely recognize. And just so we all know, this isn't a sob story. I don't even think it's a sad story. I think it's a story about what happens to someone when they keep getting back up, even after life gives them every reason not to. It's grieving the version of yourself you thought you would be. Because nobody prepares you for the kind of exhaustion that isn't physical, the kind that sits in your chest, the kind that follows you everywhere, the kind that makes simple things feel impossible. And the scary part is eventually people get used to your absence. The hallways stay loud. Life moves on. The world keeps spinning. But this year, something in me
012changed. Not all at once, not magically. I still struggled this year. Believe me, I still fell behind. But this year, for the first time in a long time, I stopped running from everything. I got back up and I really did the And that sounds simple until you've spent forever trying to convince yourself that there's something worth giving up for. I had to finish over a little 12 classes this year and I was heavily slacking and I kept thinking that I had more time. Every assignment, every class, every late night moment I forced myself to keep going became proof of something that I didn't think was true about myself anymore, that I was capable, that I was still here, and that no matter how many times life knocked me down, that there was a part of
013me refusing to stay there. And I think that's what I want people to understand here tonight. Healing is not pretty. Growth is not graceful. Getting your life together doesn't happen in one beautiful cinematic moment where everything just suddenly makes sense. Sometimes healing looks ugly. It looks like crying in parking lots, isolating yourself because you don't know how to explain what's happening inside your own head. It looks like failing, disappearing, and coming back embarrassed and trying again anyway. And there's something unbelievably brave about trying again anyway. Because the truth is, some people graduate with honors. And some people graduate after fighting every single day just to believe they deserve a future at all. And both deserve to be celebrated. Tonight is not just proof that I or we graduated. It is proof that people can come
014back from dark places. It is proof that falling behind does not mean you're doomed. It is proof that there is still life after the worth worst version of yourself. And to anyone sitting here tonight who feels lost, exhausted, ashamed, or scared that they ruined their future before building a chance to get there, you have not missed your chance to become someone beautiful. Your story does not end at your lowest moment, and you are allowed to rebuild yourself as many times as it takes. You are allowed to outgrow pain. You are allowed to survive things that almost destroyed you. And one day the person you have become will look back on the person you are right now and thank you for not giving up when it would have been easier to disappear. So no, I was
015never the loudest person in the room. But I learned something important in my silence. The people who look like they are falling apart can still carry enough hope to rebuild an entire life with their bare hands. And with that, I am proud of everyone here who has overcome their silent battles. And even though I basically know none of you, you are loved. And I thank you for giving up every morning, whatever your reason may be. Good night and congratulations to you all. All right, families. Now it's time for what you came for. Yes. My name is Marquita Lee and I'm the science instructor at Advantage and I'm ready to read off your graduate names. Now, because this is an Advantage, we like to do things our own way. I I'm trying to see something really.
016The hype is family. Where y'all at? So when I say your graduates name, I want to hear the hype is family. Deal. Nice. Kelly Anderson, Bruce Cohen, Orlando Craft, De Janeique Curry, Morgan Davis. >> Yes. Q. Yes. Q. You see her? Yes. Javon Fornier. Autumn Fuller. Sincere Gibbs. Danielle Haggard, Elena Hansen, Shenia Harrison, Spencer Holfield, Princess House, Torian Herby, Tony Jenkins Jr. Gabrielle John, Alia Jones, >> Kaylee Mikey Jones, Eric Kilburn Jr. Galencia Kyle, >> Ariana Lomax, Javian Long, Heaven McFarland, Purity Medina, Harmony Mendoza, >> Kalia Morgan, Derek Nolan. Go DJ cuz that's my DJ. Antonio Orway. Taylor Payne. Jeremiah Reed, Charlie Robinson, Erica Seight, Clarence Thomas IVth, Malik Thomas, >> Xandrian Thompson, >> Zion Verge. That concludes our class of 2026 at Advantage High School. Ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry I missed
017the name. I NEED Y'ALL ALL ON Y'ALL FEET FOR THIS NAME. Maurice Robinson. I am so sorry. One more. One more y'all. We going to give it to everybody who want it. Annayia Lee. Now that concludes our class. Okay. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Hazel Park Advantage class of 2026. Will the class of 2026 please stand? Members of the board of education, superintendent Dr. Amy Wilcox, family and friends, it gives me great pleasure to announce to you that the students of Hazel Park Advantage of 2026 are now graduated. Graduates, you may now move your tassel from right to left. >> I now pronounce you graduates of 2026. Congratulations graduates. Stay there. Anyone who has experienced success has experienced some type of adversity that they have had to overcome. Sometimes we need
018some assistance and encouragement from someone else to help us persevere when we get discouraged. President Abraham Lincoln said, "I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down." The reason that each student has received a rose tonight is to recognize and show gratitude to the person who believed in them. As we exit, graduates, please find the person who supported you throughout your journey. Whether it is a friend, a family member, a teacher, or an administrator, find that person, thank them, and present them with the rose as a token of your appreciation. Please be safe as you celebrate tonight. Congratulations, class of 2026. Hallelujah.