Choctaw Central class of 2020 overcame obstacles
Graduation for Choctaw Central High School's Class of 2020 was held in a different setting from years past because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians under Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben made it special for the graduating seniors. The graduation ceremony was held in the parking lot at the Geyser Falls Water Park last week. In an effort to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19, the graduates were seated six feet away from each other and everyone wore masks. Their families watched from their cars.
And after the speeches and everyone had received their high school diploma, there was a dazzling firework show and music to celebrate the occasion.
Chief Ben remembered his senior year and the thrill of graduating.
"Unfortunate circumstances made this year very different," Ben said. "But there will always be one Class of 2020 at Choctaw Central High School. And that is you. You are the Class of 2020.
"You endured many things, yet you are a class that overcame and were successful to be sitting here tonight."
Ben said graduates must not let the challenges and changes caused by COVID-19 overshadow their accomplishments.
"Life is full of challenges," Ben said. "We believe in you, no matter what comes before you. You will be successful. Most of you will continue forward in your academic goals. Some take vocational goals, but eventually, all of us will enter into a thing called career. There will be changes throughout your career. It is you, your inner self, your inner faith, that will push you to obtain the many goals that I know we will get to see."
Choctaw Central's Class of 2020 had two Valedictorians, Rayven McMillian and Kristina Taylor.
"Everyone told me high school was the best four years of your life," McMillian said. "Now I am graduating as one of the valedictorians. I can say it was my best years.
"It was educational. What I mean is that I learned so much about myself and about life. Four years ago, most of us were freshmen, sitting in the gym on the bottom row while the seniors were overlooking us in the sky bleachers of the gym," McMillian recalled.
"On that day, we were one big group whether we knew each other or not," McMillian said. "We knew we would learn the basic principles of life by establishing our paths in life, getting out of our comfort zone, making new connections with people; recognizing challenges and setting goals for each year of high school."
McMillian recalled losing her father in her junior year. She was hurt and upset, but she said she knew he would want her to go on.
McMillian is from the Pearl River Community. She is the daughter of Sunni McMillian and the late Lee McMillian. She is the granddaughter of Ray and Marie Gleason and the late Dorothy McMillian and the late Frank Steve.
Some of her honors include being the November 2019 Philadelphia Rotary Club Student of the Month, a member of the ACT 20+ Club, attending the (MS)2 summer program at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and serving as president of the senior class and the BETA Club. She was also a member of the Lady Warriors soccer team and the cheerleading squad.
McMillian plans to attend Arizona State University in the fall and major in electrical engineering.
Taylor was unable to attend the graduation services but recorded her message.
"All though I am unable to be there, I want to thank God for allowing us to celebrate on of our biggest accomplishments," Taylor said. "The moment I found out I was valedictorian, I was in disbelief. It didn't seem real until I started writing this speech."
"I was struggling mentally throughout my senior year and I know I wasn't the only one. I was always my biggest obstacle, my toughest critic, and my own worse enemy. I always wanted to be in control but then I started living in the present," Taylor said.
She quotes Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
"All of us know the feeling of everything being out of our control," Taylor said. Our last moments of our senior year were out of our control. It helped all of us to grateful for what we have because we do not know how long it will last.
"I encourage all of you to live in the moment and let God guide you from here on out. He has a plan for all of us and though we might not see it yet, it's greater than anything we can imagine."
Taylor is from the Tucker Community. She is the daughter of Sharon and Joe Taylor and the granddaughter of the late Albert and Bernadine Farve and the late Etheline Taylor.
Some of the honors Taylor is most proud of include awards in English I, II and III, Creative Writing, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, World History and being recognized as the September 2019 Philadelphia Rotary Club Student of the Month. She was also a member of the ACT 20+ Club, served as the treasurer for the BETA Club and manager for the Lady Warriors soccer team.
Taylor plans to attend East Central Community College this fall and major in elementary education.
"We have such outstanding Choctaw students throughout our Tribal and local schools," said Chief Ben. "Despite the unprecedented challenges they have faced, students like Rayven and Kristina have persevered and succeeded beyond what was expected of them."