University High principal: Class of 2025 reached 99% graduation rate
University High School's 620 members of the Class of 2025 earned their diplomas at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach May 31.
Principal Amanda Wiles said University's Class of 2025 reached a graduation rate of greater than 99%.
University students completed more than 36,000 community service hours.
"This proves your generosity, compassion and willingness to make a positive impact on the world around you," Wiles said.
More than 2 in 3 Titans earned scholar designations, while 172 received industry scholar designations. University students earned nearly $4.7 million in college scholarships, while 16 earned associate's degrees while in high school.
Seven will enter the armed forces.
Salutatorian Skye Scribner, who spoke to the class, completed her high school diploma in three years, while also earning an associate of arts degree from Daytona State College. So she spent the past year not in the halls of University, but at the campus of the University of Central Florida, completing her junior year of college.
"I didn't get the chance to spend this final year of high school with you," Scribner said, admitting she felt scared standing before the large graduating class.
"That's the message I want to leave you with today: Do it scared," she said. "Chances are you walked into high school and you were scared. You started your first job scared. You drove off alone for the first time scared. And yet you did it.
"That courage, however small it felt at the time, is what carried you forward," Scribner said. "It is what got you to this moment and it's what will carry you into the next."
Valedictorian Katie Blix admitted she's not good at many sports, but she kept trying and landed on running, which she said gave her confidence. She compared completing high school to crossing a finishing line.
"Even though the race might have felt like 100 marathons, you still made it here," she said, "and you are stronger for it."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: University High seniors graduate at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach
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