By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Pelham High School held its annual commencement exercises at the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena on Thursday, May 22, celebrating the class of 2025 in an emotional ceremony that sent off both the graduates and select city officials to the next chapter of life.

The festivities began with song, as “Pomp and Circumstance” blared throughout the arena to welcome the graduates. Amy Corbitt sang the national anthem, and the audience continued to exercise their vocal chords with a performance of PHS’s alma mater immediately after.

Dr. Chuck Ledbetter welcomed the crowd in his final graduation as superintendent of Pelham City Schools. Ledbetter previously announced his retirement at a Pelham Board of Education meeting on Monday, April 28, and his retirement will become effective on Monday, June 30.

Ledbetter acknowledged the achievements of both the class of 2025 and the educators who supported them in his remarks.

“We have the greatest educators in the state of Alabama, and we see it every day,” Ledbetter said. “To the class of 2025… this is just one step along the way, but it is an important step, one that means something and one that you’ve worked hard to obtain.”

Brenna Vickery, the executive president of Pelham’s student government association, followed Ledbetter. In her speech, Vickery discussed moving to Pelham the summer before her sophomore year of high school, which she initially resented her family for. However, Vickery grew to love and cherish Pelham in a profound way during her time at PHS.

“What I found here was something I had never been a part of before,” Vickery said. “A community that cares. A community that taught me what it means to genuinely make someone feel welcomed and appreciated. A community that instilled in me the importance of possessing an open heart and an open mind.”

Vickery further described the most important lesson she learned from her time in Pelham.

“The most important lesson that I learned in high school is that the most impactful choice you can make is the choice to be kind,” Vickery said. “The most powerful virtue that a person can possess is not the ability to be indifferent, but it is the ability to be kind. In the world that we live in today, kindness is a byproduct of bravery and strength.

“It takes bravery to offer your hand to a stranger when the world tells you to watch your back. And it takes strength to open your heart to those around you when the world tells you to lock it up.”

Following Vickery’s remarks, Kim Kiel, the assistant superintendent of PCS, gave an address to the graduates. Kiel discussed her new role, which she was promoted to in October 2024, and how despite leaving her previous role as principal of PHS, her heart is still with the class of 2025.

“Though I now serve in a different role at the central office, a big part of my heart is still right here at Pelham High School with all of you,” Kiel said. “I had the privilege of being your principal for 3 1/2 wonderful years and watching you grow has been one of the greatest joys of my 26 years in education.

“I still carry your stories, your successes, your laughter and even your struggles with me every single day. You are a part of who I am, and Pelham will always be my family.”

Sabrina Tutchtone, the principal of PHS, followed her predecessor and gave her first graduation address as principal.

“Tonight is a celebration and milestone marking not just the end of your high school journey but the beginning of something much greater,” Tutchtone said. “You are unique and absolutely capable of amazing things. I cannot wait to see where you go from here. As you walk across the stage tonight, you’re not just receiving a diploma. You’re carrying your name, your reputation and your character.”

In a tradition dating back to 1985, the mayor of Pelham gives an address to the graduating seniors of Pelham High School. Mayor Gary Waters gave his final address to the class of 2025, as his final term as mayor ends this year.

“There’s nothing about my job that makes me qualified to speak to you,” Waters said. “But I do possess one attribute that makes me uniquely qualified to talk to you tonight, and that’s because I’m the father of three graduates of Pelham High School. So, I know how wonderful you can be, and I know how stupid you can be too.”

Waters, including Thursday’s ceremony, gave 12 graduation speeches during his tenure as mayor. During his speech, he presented a compiled list of the key takeaways from each of his previous 11 speeches and read them to the graduates.

“Everyone who claims to be your friend will not have your best interests at heart,” Waters said. “Nothing is free. You’re not entitled to anything. You only deserve what you earn. True character is only found in the face of adversity. When you don’t know what else to do, be kind. It doesn’t cost you anything to be kind.

“The American Dream is not dead. But what you need to know is that your dream isn’t my dream… The hard part is for you to find out what is your dream and to simply go for it… Be ashamed to die before you score a victory for mankind.”

Every year of his address, Waters would wear a special hat to ensure that the graduates would in some way remember his address. In a touching moment, Waters donned his Pelham fireman’s cap, as the mayor previously served with the Pelham Fire Department for 31 years, 24 of them as fire chief.

“I came to the city of Pelham as an employee when I was 22 years old,” Waters said. “I came wearing this hat. This is the hat that brought me to Pelham. I thought it only right it be the hat that I wear when I’m leaving Pelham.”

Waters left the podium to raucous applause from the crowd and graduates, a testament to his legacy of service to Pelham and how he will be sorely missed.

Following Waters’ speech, Tutchtone returned to the podium to present the school’s valedictorian, salutatorian and honor graduates. Including the valedictorian and salutatorian, 53 students were recognized as honor graduates.

Gloria Phillips was recognized as PHS’s salutatorian, while Edwin Hernandez was recognized as the school’s valedictorian. In his valedictory address, Hernandez discussed the moments that defined his and his classmates high school careers.

“At a time when the halls were a labyrinth and we were only saplings of what we are now, we navigated through many first times together,” Hernandez said. “We all shared those experiences with fear, joy, hope, pain and ambition. Experiences and momentous events like these, the daily ups and downs of life, shaped us to be our own people and brought many of us closer together.”

Hernandez discussed his difficult family upbringing, as he experienced homelessness and came to the end of himself on multiple occasions.

“There were many days I filled my stomach with only cereal, tortillas and eggs,” Hernandez said. “There were many nights when life broke us down enough that I had to be the shoulder to cry on for my mom… There were many, many years when life chipped away at my hope, my being and my soul.”

Hernandez recounted a powerful moment on his 16th birthday in which he seemingly lost all hope.

“I’d lost all faith in God,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t know what I believed death would bring, but I thought it couldn’t be any worse than life.”

Hernandez recounted at that moment hearing his siblings, Ricky and Diana, enter the kitchen after a hard day’s work and hastily set up a cookie cake for Edwin’s birthday. It was this simple act of love that reignited Hernandez’s faith and purpose.

“I was no longer hopeless or faithless, but I found my lord and savior and recognized the gifts that He had given me,” Hernandez said. “He gave unconditional love through a family that constantly sacrificed everything for me. Something formed in my core, a resolute purpose to love. This sole reason carried me through more tough years.”

Hernandez further described how love propelled his journey, including obtaining a full-ride scholarship to Stanford University.

“We need to reflect and remember to live life selflessly and to love big,” Hernandez said. “Let’s fill the rigid and cold regions of the world with love and sacrifice. Take all the stones thrown at you and build a castle with love. As you graduate, you’re carrying your own unique stories, personalities, perspectives, talents and gifts. Give them to the world with love so we can make this world a little warmer.”

In an emotional moment, after the presentation of diplomas, senior class president Abigail Silwal thanked those who supported her and the class of 2025 as a whole, including her family.

“To my class, we made it,” Silwal said. “We made it through the long school days, the tireless nights of studying and homework and through the tests we thought we would never pass. We made it all together, and now we’re finishing it all together.

“Look at how far we have come, and now look at how far we can go. Remember, class of 2025, that this is not the end but just the beginning.”

Following Silwal’s speech, a call and repeat chant of “Pelham Panthers” rang throughout the arena before the graduates exuberantly through their caps into the air. The school’s fight song blared as graduates tearfully embraced each other, signifying a bittersweet end and an exciting beginning.