With sunny skies, the Tattnall County High School (TCHS) Class of 2022 graduated on the morning of Saturday, May 21, 2022, at Warrior Stadium.

A storm caused administration to reschedule the graduation ceremony at the last minute from Friday at 8 p.m. to Saturday at 9 a.m.  The rain was completely gone by the morning, and 227 graduates were able to receive their diplomas and turn their tassels.

Graduates Darci Bodily gave the invocation, and Jake Debevec led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Emily Crawford then welcomed the Class of 2022 and the attendees.

Valedictorian Martin DeJarnette of Vidalia, the son of Robert H. and Roseanne DeJarnette, compared life to a rollercoaster in his valedictory speech.  The graduates of the Class of 2022 are at the peak, waiting for the drop of what happens next – jobs, college, stress, and unpredictable circumstances.

DeJarnette encouraged his classmates to remember Psalm 23:4 throughout these high and low points in life.

“Everybody knows what to do in the best-case scenarios.  After all, you’ve most likely been planning for or working towards the best possible outcome.  However, what  do you do when the track takes a hard right?  What do you do when life doesn’t go the way you had envisioned..Psalm 23:4 says, ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’”

Fredrick “Nolan” Wiginton of Reidsville, the son of Jeremy Wiginton and Diana Lewis, gave the salutatory address.  Wiginton spoke about the memories he and his classmates will take with them as they leave TCHS.  He quoted William Faulkner, “The past is never dead.  It’s not even past.”

“May we all look back on our time here and smile,” Wiginton said.

Before TCHS Principal Lakisha Bobbitt, EdS, and Superintendent Gina Williams, EdD, presented the diplomas to each student, the parents of the late Erick Brown, Jr., and the late Brandon Marsh were presented with an honorary cap and gown in memory of these two young men, who were members of the graduating class of 2022.

Erick Brown, Sr., and Mae Brown, the parents of Erick, Jr., and Sherry Marsh and Roger Barrow, the parents of Brandon, were given a standing ovation from the graduates and those in attendance.  It was an emotional moment for many.

Yocelin Ramos-Perez gave the closing remarks.  Graduates Ansley Trotter, Jonah Durrence, and Brian Brown sang the Alma Mater.  The Class of 2022 then formed the traditional friendship circle on the field as their class song, “I’ll Always Remember You,” by Miley Cyrus, played.

The class flower is a red rose, and the class motto is, “Our lives are before us, our pasts are behind us, our memories are forever with us.”