INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — One by one they filed across the stage, anxiously awaiting their name to be called, their future plans to be announced, their diploma to be awarded. Nearly 130 Indian River Charter High School Wolves celebrated their graduation Saturday at the Vero Beach Performing Arts Center amidst hundreds of their friends and family who filled almost every available seat.
“It’s hard to stand before you in this moment,” said Valedictorian Candace Lawrence, addressing her fellow classmates. Graduation is “a moment to reflect, look forward and live in the moment at the same time.”
At Indian River Charter High, the students are encouraged to forge their own path, she said.
“We don’t try to fit the norm,” Lawrence said. “We dare to do what we want to do and we dare to be who we want to be.”
She reminded the students that the school’s faculty deemed the Class of 2012 the best class in the 10 years the charter school has been open – but it wasn’t a title bestowed upon them for their multitude of accomplishments and achievements.
Instead, it was because of their strength of character.
“Class of 2012 has done incredibly well,” she said.
A dozen of Lawrence’s classmates, herself included, graduated the high school with an Associate’s Degree from Indian River State College. And 42 percent of the graduating class qualified for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship.
But more than that, said Robert Brackett, the secretary of the Board of Directors for Charter High, these students had more responsibility than any other high school students – having swept more floors, emptied more trash cans, and cleaned more classrooms.
“Oh, what a class it is,” Brackett said, later adding, “These students know and have what it takes to survive.”
