Baldwyn High School celebrates graduating seniors

May 21—BALDWYN — Forty-one Class of 2022 graduates crossed the stage Friday night in the Baldwyn High School gymnasium.

Principal Ricky Weaver said he and the school's staff are extremely proud of the seniors, especially considering all they've been through over the past couple of years. They didn't let a worldwide pandemic throw them off course; they came back to school and persevered until the end.

"This is a very special group to me in the fact that it's a good group of kids," Weaver said. "I'm glad to see them graduate."

In his comments during the school's commencement ceremony, valedictorian Jackson Allen spoke to his classmates about the real meaning of patience.

"Don't think of patience as merely biding your time," Allen said. "Use patience as an opportunity. A moment to examine yourself and your next move."

He reminded the group that they've shown immense patience over the last 18 years, and although they have accomplished much, high school graduation is "merely a drop in the pool that is to be our lives."

"The magnitude of what we have accomplished in that short time should speak volumes to the trials that await us, the enormity of their influence," Allen said.

He ended by thanking the families, teachers and faculty in the audience who helped him and his classmates along the way.

Salutatorian Andrew Trollinger congratulated his fellows classmates on making it to graduation, despite difficulties along the way.

"Our four years in high school have been so different," Trollinger said. "Because we could be at school one day and then go virtual the next two weeks."

He thanked the community for support shown to him at the grocery store or while walking around town. They may be going their separate ways, but the members of Baldwyn's class of 2022 will always share a bond.

"When I think of family, I think of all of you," he told the crowd.

blake.alsup@djournal.com