Rupp Arena fills with emotion as FCPS seniors graduate

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Rupp Arena has been filled with emotion and celebrations this week as Fayette County Public Schools holds high school commencement ceremonies.

Frederick Douglass principal Lester Diaz says 436 students graduated Wednesday. It was the high school’s sixth-ever graduating class.

“The time that we have spent together is an anthology of its own,” said Sydney Cox, FDHS class president.

Cox says if every chapter of that series was an accomplishment by this class, the book wouldn’t end. A school record of 128 students finished with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

However, the pomp and circumstance wouldn’t be possible if those pages weren’t filled with some trials and tribulations,

Joel and Darnell Roberts have come face to face with many late nights, difficult tests, and some trouble of their own making.

“To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I will graduate high school,” Darnell Roberts said. “I would do the work, and I wouldn’t turn it in. I’d blow it off sometimes, got held back a couple times at school.”

But with family and faith behind them, they crossed that stage Wednesday. Now, just like their classmates, they feel they’re ready for whatever their future holds.

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