MORGANTOWN — For the last time, 33 students went to their little school on the hill. Some have been making the climb for 14 years — since pre-kindergarten — but now Trinity Christian School’s class of 2019 have descended into the world.
“The thing I’m going miss most is the small moments with your friends,” Class President Briston Bennett said. “The little moments you won’t really think about. Whether it’s a hotel in Beckley in a snow storm or whether it’s on the bus ride back from Hersey Park which was our senior trip. Those are the little moments you don’t always expect that turn out to be the best”
Those little moments Bennett will miss are the exact thing the school’s reverend, Roy Schneider, told the graduating class to enjoy on their life journey. Everyone’s has their own path but everyone should enjoy it and try to have a positive impact.
Valedictorian Rachel Rosen said she’s excited to take her next step — studying to become a veterinarian at Perdue University. She said she’d miss her family-like bond with her classmates but was excited to start making new friends at Perdue.
The 2019 class is the school’s largest ever and the graduates accepted almost $1.4 million in scholarships and awards, Director of Student Services Teresa Barnett, said.
“They’re a really astounding class,” Barnett said. “They work well, they’re community service minded, they volunteer. They’re a very smart class.”
Linda Day, who watched her granddaughter Belen Turak walk across the stage, said she thought commencement speaker Junius Lewis’ speech was from the heart.
Lewis encouraged the graduates to be strong and courageous in life and not to run from challenges but embrace them.
“I’m so proud,” Day said of her granddaughter.
