Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 4, 1990 TAG: 9006040137
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA A. SAMUELS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The ceremony began with a slide presentation for each of the three seniors, which included some candid baby pictures that amused the audience.
And though the seniors seemed nonchalant about commencement during an earlier interview, there were plenty of tears to go around by the end.
Valedictorian Lisa Ann Johnson, who will attend Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., and major in elementary education, addressed the group.
"The things I've learned spiritually far outweigh the academics." Johnson also said the things she will remember most about Berean are her friends, her teachers, and the spiritual atmosphere in the classroom.
Johnson, who had attended the school since first grade, also received a Presidential Academic Fitness Award and the school's Christian Leadership Award.
Victoria Lynn McCoy, who started at Berean in seventh grade, received a $4,000 chancellor's scholarship to Liberty University at the ceremony. McCoy plans to study nursing.
Thomas Wayne Webb Jr., or "T.W.," also received a $4,000 scholarship to Liberty University. A student at Berean since third grade, Webb plans to study business.
The parents also were able to get involved in the commencement.
They wrote letters to their children to be read during the ceremony.
Johnson's parents wrote, "this is not the end, but only the beginning of a new and exciting phase in your life."
McCoy's mother wrote along the same theme. "Congratulations on completing one of the milestones in your life."
However, Webb's parents wrote what the other parents were probably thinking. "Perhaps having a high school graduate has marked the arrival of advanced years."
This was also a commencement for the school's principal, Wes Smith. After two years at Berean, he's planning to move to Greenville, N.C., and accept a position at Greenville Christian Academy.
The graduation speaker, the Rev. E.G. Robertson, pastor of Berean Baptist Church, told the graduates to stay close to God. "You'll never get to the place or point in life where you won't need an intercessor . . . Jesus Christ is our great intercessor.
"God forbid that you ever get to the place where you don't need the prayers of others," Robertson said.
by CNB