KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Just like the wind that blew in Friday night, the Tullahoma High School and Tullahoma Virtual Academy Class of 2025 propelled themselves to Wilkins Stadium to walk the line to receive their high school diplomas. The commencement ceremonies saw over 270 students from both THS and TVA receive their diplomas.

While the majority of the day was mostly cloudy with the chance of rain, the clouds departed enough for the packed stadium to see the sun set as “Pomp and Circumstance” signaled the arrival of the graduates. The graduates made their way to their seats to both to the Edward Elgar tune and to the ovation of friends, family, teachers and administrators.

THS Principal Dr. Greg English welcomed everyone to the 103^rd commencement for the Class of 2025. English thanked the various members of the Tullahoma City Schools system and Board of Education for their leadership, and gave recognition to THS administration, THS teachers, staff members and students who helped prepare to make the commencement ceremony happen. He also thanked the parents for being there for their graduates from day one seeing them through it all, and that night was to also celebrate them for a job well done.

Principal speeches

English said he usually prided himself on keeping his remarks short and to the point, but for graduation night he would need to take some more time, and he would not apologize for it, as there was a lot to applaud the Class of ’25 for, as they had seen a lot of historic and iconic moments in THS history. He would list off the vast moments the graduates had experienced, including: the THS football team winning the Class 4A State Championship in 2021; the THS baseball team winning the Class 3A Championship after a 23 game winning streak in 2024, as well as watching the team punching their ticket to state once again the day before; the girls wrestling team making it to state for the first time in school history; the boys wrestling team placing second and fourth in state duels in 2024 and 2025 respectively; the girls’ bowling team bringing home hardware for the first time in the program’s history; the volleyball team breaking various school records; the THS boys’ basketball team breaking records set in 1977 and becoming the Class 3A State Runners-Up this season; the girls’ basketball teaming named back-to-back district champions for the first time since 1975; and all individual students’ accomplishments in academics.

According to English, over a hundred seniors had earned dual enrollment credit, stacking up a total of 418 college credits during their time at THS, including three students who have already graduated with their associates degrees. He added a total of 187 seniors had earned 287 key credentials through the school’s CTE (Career Technical Education) programs.

“I see an emerging theme here,” English noted. “You’re setting a standard, you’re setting a new standard, and it’s absolutely incredible.”

English then shared one more accolade that he would describe as “one of the most creative chapters in THS lore.” English said several members of the Class of ’25 capped off their high school careers the previous night in “every fashion” when they made a surprise, midnight splash in his pool, setting themselves apart from all previous senior classes in recent history.

“Why just leave a legacy when you can cannonball into your future,” English quipped with the amusement of the graduates.”

English wrapped up his remarks by praising the graduates for setting a new normal following the COVID-19 pandemic by redefining resilience and raising the bar of excellence.

“You’re truly a remarkable group of humans and we want to say thank you for letting us be a small part of your incredible story,” English said.

Before proceeding with the program, English provided one more parting paragraph, the pertinent and practical advice that he hoped will “permanently park” in the graduates’ memory:

“Pursue passion. Prioritize people. Practice patience, especially with parking, printers and people who put pineapple on pizza. Protect your peace like it’s the last pack of Pop-Tarts. Push past procrastination, pessimism and petty people who perpetually post passive aggressive Pinterest quotes on their Instagram page. Play, ponder and pet puppies whenever possible. Participate proudly, persevere through pitfalls and plan with purpose. Pick positivity over pettiness. Preach progress, not perfection. And perhaps, per chance, whenever possible, permit yourself the periodic privilege of pausing, preferably in pajamas, to ponder the perfectly peculiar, profoundly perplexing path that is life. Also, be kind and don’t forget to call your mom.”

Director of the Tullahoma Virtual Academy (TVA) Dr. Chris Treadway followed English and praised the graduates’ accomplishments and thanked everyone who had a hand in helping them to get to that night. He encouraged the graduates to do two things as they embark onto the next phase of their lives: to be kind to others and, to quote shoe company Nike, “just do it.”

“We tell ourselves ‘There’s no way I can make a difference. The problem’s too big and what little I have to offer couldn’t possibly make a difference.’ Do it anyway,” he said. “You’ll never know how one small act of kindness or gesture can change a person’s future or completely alter a situation. When you think what you can do to make a difference is insignificant, do it.”

Student speeches

Senior Class President Kayleigh Williams addressed her fellow classmates and said when she was coming up with her graduation speech, she thought back to what her sister said to her years ago, which was “is it possible to think a truly original thought?”

Williams said she would leave the graduates to come to their own conclusions on the question, but for her, she was convinced it would be impossible to write an original graduation speech, as from her experience, one will always come back around to some sort of cliché.

“Realizing this, I set it out to determine which cliché means the most to me,” Williams said.

When reflecting on her life experiences, Williams said she heard the voices of her loved ones repeating the phrase “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

A phrase which Williams admitted she resented. She recalled when someone spoke this phrase to her, she interpreted it as dismissing her apprehension of a change in her life. Now though, she found comfort in the old, familiar phrase.

“I no longer see it as ‘get used to it,’ but instead as ‘look forward to it,’” she said. “Some changes are undeniably intimidating. Each one is a chance to learn something about the world, about yourself, to deepen your connection to God and to those you love, and to forge new relationships with those you may never have met otherwise.”

Williams said if the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes, it was advisable to embrace change.

She concluded her speech by stating they as graduates were on the edge of one the greatest changes in their lives, and urged all of them to begin the rest of their lives with the willingness to embrace change and to approach each with the fervor and dedication that it deserved.

“Let us not fear this change that stands before us, but instead welcome it with open arms,” Williams said. “Oh, and remember, this is not the end. It is the beginning.”

Next to speak was Salutatorian Seth Vaughn, and he shifted focus onto what his fellow classmates’ next steps in life will be. He said everyone has a different direction to take, but there was a trap that many can fall into as they set their goals.

And that trap was a thought: “It’ll take too long. It just won’t be worth it.”

Vaughn said regardless whether his classmates will go after their goals or not, that time will pass.

“If there’s something you want to do, you have a choice,” Vaughn said. “The time we have on this planet is precious. There will never be a better time to do what we want to do than right now.”

Vaughn shared advice he was given to his fellow graduates, which was they’ll rarely end up in life where they want to be by staying comfortable.

“I encourage everyone here tonight to truly work after what you wish to accomplish, to do your best, to do something with your life no matter what it is, because greatness rarely comes from complacency,” Vaughn said. “Don’t settle for mediocrity, chase greatness. Give life all your effort, regardless of what it’s in, and remember, it is okay to fail and to get knocked down as long as you get back up.”

Valedictorian Parker Campbell followed and said he knew his time was short before everyone would mentally shift their attention to their plans directly after graduation and the weekend. 

“Believe me, I get it, attention spans are short,” Campbell jokingly said. “ So let’s make this quick, fun and hopefully meaningful.”

After giving his thanks to the faculty and staff in the school district, and to his classmates for representing them as the student body president, Campbell said he wanted to talk about connection, the courage to step outside one’s comfort zone, failure and how real success was measured by fulfillment. But he didn’t want to tell them what that meant. Instead he wanted to show it by talking about the Class of 2025. He the connection among his fellow graduates was on full display at the student sections at games, at the late-night rehearsals, in club meetings and in hallway where conversations turned strangers into lifelong friends.

“We built a community one class group, one group project, and one shared homework assignment at a time,” Campbell said. “But connection isn’t just about the easy moments. It’s about showing up for each other even when it’s hard.  It’s about stepping into challenges, pushing past fears, and giving it your best even when success isn’t guaranteed, and that’s where courage comes in.”

That would bring Campbell to talk about failure, like the moments no one posted on social media, the games that didn’t go as planned, the performances that didn’t end in a standing ovation and the grades that they wished were higher. Yet, Campbell stated what mattered most was that they didn’t let failure have the final word. Instead, they learned, adjusted and showed up again.

“Through connection, through courage, and even through failure, we found something even bigger,” Campbell said. “We found fulfillment.”

The fulfillment, per Campbell, came through the ways they tried, the ways they got back up together and being part of something bigger than themselves. Which was what the Class of 2025 had done.

“So, here’s my final message, and I hope you all are listening now,” Campbell said. “In a world that tells you to chase status, choose service; in a culture that glorifies perfection, choose courage; and when you are unsure of your next step, take the one that connects your people, because that is where fulfillment lives. We came in as strangers, we leave as a community. So let’s go out there and be people who live fully and love deeply.”

Without further ado, English asked the graduates if they were ready, and when he got the “yes”, he told them to take their positions, and it was time to get the party started. Despite the attempts of sudden surges of wind trying to blow off sashes and caps, each graduate walked the line to receive their diplomas to the sound of roaring thunder from both the stands of their family and friends and on the field among their fellow classmates.

After all the graduates received their diplomas and were seated English gave his congratulations and said he was proud of them all. With no more speeches and no more waiting, Campbell asked the class to stand and turn their tassels, and to toss those caps as they have officially graduated.

Photos taken by Zach Birdsong and Kyle Murphy.