Students wiggled in their seats as they anxiously awaited the words they’d waited to hear for four, long years.

When Goochland High School principal Frances Ball officially declared the group as bonafide graduates, 165 candidates ended one phase of their lives and prepared to begin another.

Tassels rearranged, the graduates celebrated with friends and family, snapped photos, and made movies of the momentous occasion.

For some, it means more hours of classroom education and for others, training in valuable vocations, but for all, it’s the last sentence in one chapter of their lives.

Salutatorian Katie Huffman reminded her classmates this will be the last time they assemble as a group, and life holds many and varied adventures for all of them.

“I am sure, like myself, you are all waiting for the words that release you from your high school bonds, and are sitting there in your gowns and mortar boards wondering why I am delaying that moment,” Huffman told her classmates.

“Well, these students that you are sitting around, in about seven years or so, a significant amount of them will be gone. Whether this is through tragedy, war, natural disasters, or moving half-way across the world, a lot of your peers will in fact be gone.”

Graduate Andrew Trongone was selected by his classmates to present the senior class representative remarks. Trongone depended on his extended musical talents to complete the assignment, and sang a ballad capturing four years of group memories.

Valedictorian Kyle Chadwick relied on inspiration from Dr. Seuss for his valedictory address to his classmates.

“To summarize my feelings on this departure as well as the past four years, I’ve decided to write a poem,” Chadwick said.

“Believe it or not, there is no more football games or buses, no more 8:15 to 3:15, no more teachers with hall passes,” he said. “And will you succeed, Yes, you will indeed,” the poem ended.

Chadwick also challenged his classmates to explore the world they area about to encounter.

“Consider this; an amateur built the Ark,” he said. “A professional built the Titanic. Don’t be afraid to try new things.”

Superintendent Dr. Linda Underwood told the graduates “this is the jumping off point for the most exciting times in your lives.”

She also presented them with distinct options for life’s future course. “Each of you has a choice,” Underwood said. “You can either be a passive victim of circumstance, or you can be the active heroe of your own life.”

Photo by Jim Ridolphi
The class of 2009 prepares to turn the tassel as principal Frances Ball announced them official graduates of Goochland High School. The class includes 165 members.