Roswell High School Awards Diplomas to 514 Graduates

The high school career of 514 Roswell High School graduating seniors has officially come to a close, marked on May 26, 2020, by the streaming of a Virtual Commencement Ceremony 2020 via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the RHS website, and a drive-thru graduation celebration on campus for seniors and their families.

In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, faculty, staff and parents at Roswell High School have worked to creatively commemorate its graduating class during these unprecedented times. Originally scheduled for May 19 at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, in March Principal Dr. Robert Shaw and a graduation committee began to make plans to shift away from the traditional commencement ceremony to virtual events.

“The Class of 2020 has accomplished much and is prepared for life after high school,” said Roswell High School Principal Dr. Robert Shaw. “COVID-19 in no way diminishes our graduating seniors’ accomplishments. We are very proud of our graduates.”

The Virtual Commencement Ceremony included the National Anthem sung by 2019 Shuler Award Winner for Best Performance by a Leading Actress Jessi Kirtley, speeches by Valedictorian Saima Firoj and Salutatorian Lindsay Burgess, and senior class co-presidents Abby Brown and David Lemon. Special recognitions were given to Faculty Cup winner Michael Henderson, AJC Cup winner Nathaniel Greve and Top 10 Seniors William Barclay, Lindsay Burgess, Isabella Cordell, Saima Firoj, Zekun Li, Jill Pfalzgraf, Samantha Singer, Greyson Stevens, Smriti Tayal and Christine Webster.

On the Virtual Commencement Ceremony video, Shaw addressed the Class of 2020, offering them advice for the future.

“It could turn out that the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting shut down is the defining event of your generation,” said Shaw. “It certainly will be one of the landmarks of your senior year. As you leave Roswell High, I hope you will set bold, audacious dreams and that all your wishes come true. However, as you pursue your goals, I can guarantee you that you are going to run into many obstacles. But if we have learned anything through this global pandemic is that you can, with the support of your friends and loved ones, overcome obstacles to reach your goals.”

Student speakers included Valedictorian Firoj and Salutatorian Burgess, who both offered their own advice to their fellow graduates.

“The challenges are the things that stuck out to us most, but at the end of the day, our high school experience has been what we made of it,” said Firoj. “So, jump off the boat. Take a leap of faith and trust that it will all work out. Because in spite of the challenges high school presented us, it all worked out. We’ve made it to the next leg of our journey.”

Said Burgess, “Even though our time together was cut short, we have so many amazing memories to look back on, hopefully knowing that we made the most of the time we did share at Roswell. And I’m sure these past few months have taught us all to carry on living life as a mode because even when life may present you with bad vibes and anxious feelings, it is important to continue to embody the mode: the actions you take when confronted with negative vibes.”

The drive-thru graduation celebration was held throughout the day on Tuesday, May 26. Students dressed in their caps and gowns, and arrived as assigned times in a car with their families, lined up in the stadium parking lot and processed in their cars to Shaw, where their names were announced and photos were taken while social distancing. Students were given their diplomas, diploma covers, Hornet Notes, a lanyard from student government and an alumni sticker.

A committee of parents worked this spring to develop a new way to honor Roswell High School’s graduating class called Hornet Notes, and this group hopes the tradition will continue with the Class of 2021 and beyond. At the drive-thru graduation celebration, one of the items each graduate was given was a green envelope containing at least three letters with personal notes and congratulations from each student’s friends, family, teachers or others important in that student’s life. Called Hornet Notes, these are letters the planning committee hopes each graduate will cherish.

“All the kids will feel the love from the Roswell community,” said Becky Nelson, a member of the planning committee for Hornet Notes. “We all want it to be a legacy, so we start here. The entire intent is to keep this going.”

The Roswell community responded in droves to this request: over 4,700 personalized letters were written to the Class of 2020’s 514 graduates, and almost 200 Angel notes from members of the community. At one point during the collection period, the committee was receiving over 100 letters a day for graduates. Each graduating senior receives at least three notes in their green envelope.

Graduates of Roswell High School’s class of 2020 were awarded $12.4 million in scholarships, and will attend such schools as Cornell University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Harvard University, Kennesaw State University, Penn State University, The University of Notre Dame and Wake Forest University, among others. Other graduates will move straight into the workforce, utilizing the skills they have sharpened in high school, or have chosen to enlist in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Two members of the graduating class have been selected to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point and the United States Naval Academy.

In his speech for the Virtual Commencement Ceremony, Shaw offered these parting words to the 2020 graduates: “Thank you for the chance to get to know you over the last three years,” he said. “On behalf of the faculty and staff of Roswell High School, God Bless you and, to quote Mark Twain, ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.’”