Sixty-two Quitman graduates walked across the stage in Delbert Ballard Gym from high school into adulthood last Friday night.

The night featured speeches and celebrations from faculty, family and friends.

Quitman High School Principal Dana Hamrick told the graduates that life is often like the rehearsal they went through the day before the ceremony. There will be bumps in the road, but “in the end, we stick with it.”

She advised them to know who you are, what your purpose is, know who and what is in front or behind you and always find your joy in life.

“I’m proud of you,” Hamrick said. “I wish you all the best.”

As a class, the graduates have earned over $1.15 million in scholarships and financial aid awards.

Salutatorian Lillie Danner encouraged her fellow graduates to make their own decisions and find the best path for them.

“Sometimes this path is not an easy one and it takes hard work, the testament of your faith and the development of your character. Everyone here knows that life will not be easy, but it’s how we react to the bumps in the road that determines our course. The world has many ideas of who we should be and paths we should take, but it is our choice to define our own paths.”

In her remarks, valedictorian Abby Dobbs shared a quote from the musical, Hamilton: “What is a legacy? It’s planting of seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

“Quitman is our garden and we’ve been planting seeds for quite some time. You might not believe people will ever think about you when you depart from this station of life, but you have impacted someone’s existence at one point or another,” Dobbs said. “When embarking on this next chapter of our lives, remember the things we say, the actions we take part in, the people we associate with are all being observed by someone or somewhere.”

She also advocated for graduates to do something good for the world they are stepping into.