001[Music] Please be seated. Welcome to the class of 2025 Hazel Park Advantage graduation ceremony. Tonight we are celebrating this wonderful milestone that is monumental in the lives of these young adults. I am 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 an applause as I would like to welcome and thank the Hazel Park Board of Education for their [Applause] support this evening. I would like to recognize and express appreciation for the continued leadership of our superintendent, Dr. Amy Krooppy, Dr. Stephanie Dolmage, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and Dr. Megan Papazian Broadwell, executive director of student services. I would also like to recognize and express gratitude to the Hazel Park Advantage staff members who
002are all present here tonight. Each of you deserve praise because your efforts help our students reach this pinnacle. The work you put in all year should be commended. It makes tonight's celebration possible. And last but not least, congratulations to the class of [Applause] 2025. We are so proud of you and your accomplishments on your journey. You've endured COVID, remote, and in-person learning and attended school in 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'm not alone when I say you should be praised for your resilience. At this time, I would like to introduce to you tonight's distinguished speaker, Hazel Park School Superintendent, Dr. Dr. Amy Krooppin. [Applause] Good evening, Board of Education, Hazel
003Park staff, families, friends, community members, and of course, our incredible Hazel Park graduates of 2025. I am truly honored to stand before you tonight. Over the years, I've had the privilege of watching your growth, witnessing your achievements, and supporting your journeys. I can't express enough how deeply proud I am of each and every one of you. The immense pride I hold in my heart tonight is overwhelming as we celebrate this remarkable moment together. Tonight, we are gathered to honor not just a milestone, but a victory. The triumph of grit, of heart, and undeniable perseverance. Graduates, this moment is yours. You didn't arrive here by taking the easiest path. You're here because when the road got tough, you chose not to quit. You chose to keep going. At Hazel Park, we don't define greatness by perfection.
004We're going to define it as persistence. Every one of you took a different journey to get here. Some of your paths had twists and turns. Some of you had to start over, overcome setbacks, faced challenges. Others will never fully understand what it took you to get here. But yet you're here standing tall, wearing that cap and gown, not because it was easy, because you refused to give up. That is courage. That is strength. And that's what it means to be Hazel Parker. You've already shown the world what resilience looks like. You've proven that your past doesn't define your future. It shapes it. And now, as you step into the next chapter, whether it's college, a career, service, or something entirely that you don't know what it is yet, you will carry with you something no
005one can take away. The power of your story. Let me be clear, your story isn't over. You're not closing the book. You're turning the page. And yes, there'll be more challenges. Life does not stop testing us. But I have no doubt that you will rise to meet the challenge. Not because you have to, but because you know you can. Some of you will build. Some of you will lead. Some of you will heal, teach, protect, or create. And every single one of you will make a difference. Your voice has to matter. Your journey will matter. And you absolutely. You're not going to be defined by a transcript or a test score. You're going to be defined by your courage, your heart, and your refusal to quit. Hazel Park alumni are courageous. They're strong. They're dreamers
006and they're doers. And when the world says you can't, you say, "Watch me." So to the class of 2025, hold your head up high. Walk with pride. And when the world tries to write your story for you, grab the pen and write your own ending. We believe in you. We're proud of you, and we cannot wait to see the amazing things you do. Congratulations. Now go show the world exactly who you are. Thank you. I'm here introduce sorry I'm here to introduce our first speaker. Uh see Summer Lewis here today as a graduate of the class of 25. Big smile on my face. Summer was one of those students that teachers love having in class. She does her work, give anyone a hard time, creative and fun and kind. But then she moved online and
007we no longer had the pleasure of her company. It's not uncommon then for students switch schools or she just kind of disappear. Um sometimes they move on to another place, sometimes they just don't finish. Summer did the work after self motivated and got it done. for that and for the person that she is. I have great hopes for her. Welcome. [Applause] Good evening everyone. Thank you all for being here. Journey to get here wasn't always a walking. We have all our own challenges. Some of us juggle job family responsibility and our own personal struggles. Many nights were spent staying up to finish homework, sacrificing sleep for the sake of knowledge. Weekends meant for relaxation and fun were often consumed by online school work pushing us to our limits. There were moments we doubted ourselves when
008we felt overwhelmed and questioned. Will we even make it to this day? Yet here we stand, stronger than ever and more resilient than ever. We stumble we fell but we got back up. First I would like to thank my mother, my girlfriend, my principal and all my teachers and family and friends. Their support meant the world to me. My mother for her encouraging words and her motivation to wake me up every morning and for fixing me at warm breakfast. She knows just what to say to lift my spirits and get me ready for the day. I truly appreciate all the sacrifices she makes for me and the love she pours into everything she does for our family. My future wife for always having my back and reminding me to stay focused when I want to
009give up. She always believes in me and even when I don't believe in myself. Her support means the world to me. She encouraged me to chase my dreams and to never lose sight of my goals. I couldn't ask for a better partner and of course Mr. Smith my amazing principal for all his support and encouragement. Your leadership inspired us to believe in oursel. Also I would like to express my gratitude to all my teachers for their hard work and dedication and shaping our futures. You haven't just taught us facts about history, reading and writing and math problems. You have also shown us the importance of hard work and dedication and to always stick with things even when they're very difficult. I'm grateful for all the countless hours you spent helping us grow. Congratulations to us,
010class 2025. Let's make our mark on the world. [Applause] Good evening, Advantage graduates, families, and friends. Also board members, Superintendent Dr. Amy Krooppy, Principal Smith, and to this awesome Advantage staff. My name is Monnique McMerry, the dean of students here at Advantage. This is my first year here at Advantage and that it has been remarkable to say the least. I thought I was coming to Advantage to impart my knowledge, experience, and skills and I did. I demonstrated some of that. However, I was the real student at Advantage. our students at Advantage and the speaker that I'm introducing specifically taught me lessons in ways that strengthened my pedagogy and also the ability to dig deep inside myself and examine if I am who I say I am and then showing up each day to do the
011work the work that matters the most and that's to support our students with care and concern. The speaker that I am introducing in particular demonstrated how to face everyday adversities with dignity, character, and self-respect. Taking ownership to be a better student. I have watched this young man face everyday challenges that most teenagers face. He did with grace far beyond his years and use them as stepping stones to grow, develop, and mature into something magnanimous. It's called taking ownership of his hopes and dreams. First of all, when I first met this young man, I couldn't believe that he was just 15 years old. Our conversations were rich and robust for a 15year-old. We would talk about life and what it all means. You see, he's a great communicator, a great thinker. Not only does he talk,
012he listens to other people's thoughts and ideas about the world from their perspective. He knows how to dialogue, how to communicate effectively. He demonstrates the self-confidence in himself to go after his dreams and to live his best life. The life that is pre-ordained just for him. He already knows what his career goals and aspirations are, and that's to one day work in law enforcement uh to work diligently to protect and serve. His motto is plan your work then work your plan. The next speaker, he has grit. G is for guts, R is for resilience, I is for initiative, and T for tenacity. These are the qualities of this next speaker. I would like to introduce to some and present to others Carl Deshan Spratling Jr. [Applause] Good evening everyone. Growing up as a kid, I
013was a handful. I came with a lot of problems. I constantly got in trouble in and out of school. I had bad grades, constantly getting suspended from school, and sometimes almost expelled. My parents tried their best to steer me down the right path, but I just kept doing what was fun and what was also wrong. Not thinking about life in the long run. I was given punishment after punishment, I was grounded over and over, and still nothing worked. It's safe to say my behavior was out of hand. My parents were scared and didn't know what to do. It had gotten to a point where I was eventually kicked out of school. My parents still tried to put me in the best school, but unfortunately no school would accept me. This forced me to go to
014a school in Detroit, which was horrible for me. This was it was horrible for me. It was a last resort. This was no better for me. It led to me getting into fights and more trouble and I couldn't attend my eighth grade graduation at this point. I felt as if I let my parents down. For one summer, I was grounded. I had no privileges, no devices, no fun, no nothing. I felt as if I was the family's misfit. This took a huge toll on me. It changed the way I looked at a lot of things. The way I was being treated was different. I felt completely ostracized. My parents and my older sisters were still some of the people that I believe believed in me. I began my ninth grade year. I was doing well
015at a new and better school. My grades were good. I was playing sports and attended high school clubs until it all went down once again. I got into a fight in my 10th grade year which led to me being kicked out of my old high school which had been an amazing opportunity for me that I once again messed up. And now I felt as if I had let the one person who was always had faith in me which was my dad down. I felt like I was I felt like letting my dad down put a huge battery in my back with my parents as my motivation. After several years of continuous disappointment, I actually decided to switch things up and make a change because I wanted to prove everyone wrong. I decided to change people's
016perception of me. I worked on my online classes and made sure I stayed out of trouble. I began to value my future and I wanted to work towards a career and catch up on all the things my parents were were trying to set up for me. This wasn't easy due to my physical and mental obstac and mental obstacles. I lost one of my best friends. His name was Elijah Reese. He was shot and killed over a pair of shoes. This kind of made me this kind of made me put everything I had going on on a pause. I didn't want to go to school. I didn't care about school. and I was low-key ready to just give up on life. I wanted to get away from everything and everyone. So, I spent the summer at
017my dad's house, which gave me time to think back, think, and get back on track with the help of my brother talking to me and keeping it real. I got a job. I was driving the whole summer and having fun. This put me in a better place. So, by the fall of 2024, I was ready for the next school year. So, I thought I was still childish with an immature mindset. I allowed people to mess up what I had going on for myself. And my desire to fit in let me led me to making even more poor decisions. Again, I knew I had to change. I had to do things right for my mom. So, I did just that. I put myself ahead, got my license. I'm graduating early at the age of 16. I'm
018going to college and hopefully finally making my parents proud. I feel good about myself. I told my story, but to the class of 2025, I know we'll never forget the talks and laughs with Miss Lee. Thank you, Miss Green for being nice and understanding and sometimes even letting us get away with a little too much. Miss Kasa, all those essays really paid off because I wouldn't be able to write this speech. And let's not leave out Mr. Smith, the most understanding principal ever, but he always holds us accountable, insists that we handle our business. And thank you to all of my teachers and staff members who've helped me on this long journey. With all that being said, congratulations to the class of 2025. We did it. Wow, that's a hard act to follow. Give it
019up for him. Give it up for him. Give it up for all the graduates. Wow. All right. Now, let's get to what we all are gathered here for. Um, it's been a few years maybe in the making. Little blood, little sweat, little tears, maybe a lot of tears, but that's okay. My name is Miss Lee and I'm the science instructor at Advantage. And I must say, I've taught at a few schools, but nobody does it like Advantage. We have our own unique way of doing things. Graduation is going to be no different. So, when you guys hear me say the students names, I know in traditional graduates, you have to wait. You have to be quiet. But not here. I want y'all to go off. I want y'all to go off. I want them to
020say on Nine Mile, what's going on at the high school? Y'all hear me? Okay, let's go. Um, first name D'Angelo Andreas, Phil Barnes, Zamaya Bell Kayen Duncan, Galilea Edington, Somaya May Gibson, Lenasia Leay Hamilton, Shiradney Harrison Jr. Go off. Go off. [Music] Summer Lewis, Trinity, [Music] Medina, Imari Melson, Carlton Mitchell Jr. CJ, Karen Mitchell, Kylie Miles, Stephen Orlando, Jamira Pway, Malaysia Prim Darion Ricks, Jessica Robins, Eddie Robinson Jr. Kamari Smith Carl, that's him. Spratling Jr. And last, but certainly not least, Carly Teal. We had a Oh, it's right here. Clark Little. It's not in here. Give it up for Clark, y'all. Last but not least, for sure. ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the class of two I'm sorry, I present to you the Hazel Park Advantage class of 2025. Would the class of
0212025 please stand, [Applause] members of the board of education, superintendent Dr. Amy Krooppy, family and friends, it gives me great pleasure to announce to you that the students of Hazel Park Advantage of 20125 are now graduated. [Applause] I think y'all moved I think you threw your caps a little early. You threw your caps a little early because at this point you need to move your tassel from right to left. I now pronounce you graduates of the class of 2025. Congratulations graduates. Phil, just give me a couple more seconds, bro. Thank you. Anyone who's experienced success, has experienced some type of adversity that they had to overcome. Sometimes we need some 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
022a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the courage 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 a rose as a token of your appreciation. Please be safe as you celebrate tonight. Congratulations, class of 2025. Hallelujah. [Applause] [Music]