Spotlight on Valedictorians
The high school graduating class of 2020 includes an exceptional group of local valedictorians. We want to recognize their outstanding achievements and highlight their future plans. Congratulations on all you have accomplished!
What I’ve Learned Along the Way
As my time as a high schooler comes to a close, I think about all the valuable lessons I have learned along the way.
High school is a time where most people grow toward the person they dream of becoming. I have attended North Cobb Christian School (NCCS) for 15 years, having started there when I was 4 years old. It is a place that I call home. North Cobb Christian teaches students valuable lessons, spiritually and mentally, and the things I have learned will stick with me for the rest of my life. These foundational lessons have been imprinted within me, so whether I am at NCCS or not, I will continue to follow the guidelines I have been taught.
Although our final ride was cut short, my fellow classmates and I are still able to use and apply the lessons and principles we learned while on campus. While these lessons were learned daily in our halls and fields and on our stages and courts, they were really driven home each year through Spring Term, an annual spring mission trip for all middle and high schoolers. During this week-long trip, we go out into the world, whether domestically or internationally, to serve others and spread the gospel. These trips have been an excellent opportunity for many students to see the love of God at work.
Unfortunately, this year, Spring Term was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that did not stop our school from continuing our work. My classmates and I have each gleaned a heart for missions and service. It became vividly clear during the current pandemic that we could still continue our mission field and service locally. Many of us were able to help the elderly in the community with essential items, help provide school children with lunches, tutor younger students with online classes, or even help our parents at home.
Although our world seemed to have come to a complete stop, that did not change our dreams or futures. That did not change our ability to impact the world around us. In fact, the Class of 2020 has the opportunity to make the greatest changes our generation has ever seen.
Everything that is happening right now is happening for the first time. We now have Zoom meetings for college orientation, meetings with advisers, and registering for classes, and we even face the possibility of not living on campus in the fall. These factors are all new, and it is the way our future will be shaped. But, in the midst of the new, we are going to be the class that shows that things can be done differently and, yet, work better.
The possibilities are endless, and I believe that the Class of 2020 can show the world what love, kindness, equity and inclusion for all people can look like. These are the lessons that have shaped me for the past 15 years, and these are the foundational principles that I now take with me into life.
– By Madison Marquess, North Cobb Christian School
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