The first-ever class of graduates at Gwinnett County Acceleration Academies (GCAA) celebrated their success in a commencement ceremony featuring inspiring words, joyful shouts and the pride felt by a group of young people who had worked hard to achieve their dream of a diploma.

Bethany Leggio looked out at her fellow members of the Wichita Acceleration Academies Class of 2023, at the family members and friends who had supported them on an often-arduous journey, at the educators who had never let them give up.

At a ceremony filled with pomp, circumstance and an extra serving of joy, Sarasota Acceleration Academies (SAA) celebrated its latest class of graduates.

When Jayden Mixon came to Clark County Acceleration Academies during his senior year, he thought he had pushed through some serious challenges: schools closing due to Covid, a distracting social life, finding a school where he could get serious about his studies.

Alyssa Hooper had always been a gifted student, earning good grades in advanced courses and delighting in discussing the fine points of history and other subjects with teachers and classmates alike.

At her old high school in Belleview, Florida, Talea Washington got tired of less-serious students getting in the way of her goals. While Talea wanted to buckle down and learn, too many of her classmates were goofing off — to the point where teachers would sometimes just cancel the class.

Kaden Gulley is the oldest of three brothers and he wants to set a good example. “It would send a message for them to do well in school,” he says. “I’m a role model for them.”

When he was 14, Fedson Delcis got in serious trouble and ended up behind bars. While his peers enjoyed high school life — classes, homework, sports and socializing — in the years that followed, Fedson was trying to keep his head above water in the harsh environment of jail.

Austin Bernardo didn’t want to settle for his GED. So when the Washington State skies opened and poured down rain on his walk to Bethel Acceleration Academies (BAA), he would just keep on walking.