Lowcountry Acceleration Academy Celebrates First Grads

Lowcountry Acceleration Academy celebrated its first graduates in a joyful, tearful and at times boisterous celebration Thursday. Family, friends and educators crowded the brightly painted Academy to honor the grads who pushed through adversity to claim their brighter futures.

“Today is a day you will remember for the rest of your lives. We’re so, so proud of what you’ve accomplished,” Acceleration Academies Co-founder and Executive Vice President Mark Graves told the grads.

“You walk out of these doors with more opportunity in your hands, literally, than you had yesterday,” he continued. “This opportunity is an investment in your potential, in your ability to live your best life. Today is the beginning of that journey and we want to be here to support you every step of the way.”

At Thursday’s ceremony, Academy Director Dr. Jacinta Bryant awarded diplomas to Carolina Dominguez Lopez, David Espinosa Cervantes, Aubrianna Morris and Montana Ferrell. (Montana was unable to attend the ceremony.) They are the first wave of graduates from a public charter high school that opened in late summer and is already bustling with more than 200 young learners following a personalized path to their diplomas.

Here is a collection of photos from the big day by photojournalist Andrew Whittaker. Fuller profiles of each grad will appear here in coming days.