Diploma in hand, Lenoir County Learning Academy graduate Shykera Barrow is congratulated as the Class of 2022 leaves the commencement exercise Wednesday in the chapel at Kennedy Home.

Urged to “level up,” to build on the success represented by their completion of high school, the Class of 2022 at Lenoir County Learning Academy stood Wednesday on what commencement speaker Felicia Solomon called a “lauching pad,” ready to begin a new life chapter “expecting good results.”

Eleven seniors at LCPS’s alternative school received diplomas during the graduation exercise held at the chapel at Kennedy Home, where the Learning Academy is located. 

“This moment is nothing less than a launching pad for you to go get that which is yours,” said Solomon, a member of the Kinston City Council and LCPS’s Student Services Facilitator and Equity Officer. “There are measures of success that have your name on it, but it’s up to you to go and get it. Focus on your goals and don’t let anything deter you. Keep leveling up. Be great. Prepare to write a new story in the chapter of your life.”

By asking the graduates to “level up,” Solomon invoked a phrase that, over the past three years, has become shorthand in the school district for its commitment to the concept of continuous improvement and the perseverance required to make that concept a reality. A group of seniors who have had their high school careers interrupted by hurricanes, floods and a global pandemic has already met the requirement, she said.

“You are more than a survivor; you are actually an overcomer,” Solomon told the class. “Quitting is not an option for you, because quitters never overcome and overcomers never quit. You’ve proven to us you have the ability to overcome because you’re sitting here. You’re sitting in the seat of success.”

Along with courage and kindness, she advised the graduates to pack one more important trait “as you prepare for the next leg” – resilience. “Maintain the ability to bounce back. Resolve in life that you’re either up or that you’re getting up.”

A member of the graduating class, Aviana Yomariz Ortiz, was honored as Outstanding Senior with an award presented by LCLA principal Stephanie Smith. The commencement ceremony also included a Rite of Passage exercise for the school’s rising ninth graders.

 “We’ve been together for a long time,” Smith told the graduates, “so as you graduate today I am reflecting on all the hard work and determination that have brought you to this point in your life. What once was a dream has come true.”

Awarded diplomas were: Shykera T’Angela Barrow, Hyidaaraceli Cardenas Espinoza, Aneishia Marie Green, Alexis B. Hamilton, Dontavion Murrell Knight, Caleb Randell Moore, Aviana Yomariz Ortiz, Davionia MonaeSimmons, Jahmel Ra’Jon Super and Kendell Demitri Sutton.