Speech from pro-soccer alumni

Continued from Page 35 perseverance, courage and empathy, which he said is exemplified in the senior class.

“You have immeasurable opportunity before you, and as someone who has had his fair share of years to make my own mark on this world, I am so looking forward to see what you will do in the years to come,” Taylor said.

Sites said he spoke as both a parent and a principal, since his son was part of the graduating class. Then he recognized students who earned cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude, and recipients of the Governor’s Top Five Percent Award, just before introducing the commencement speaker, SDHS alumni Dr. Stephen Fell.

Fell graduated in 2001 with academic and athletic accolades, played soccer at Towson and was later drafted by the Baltimore Blast, a professional soccer team. He went on to coach at the professional level and earned a doctorate in physical therapy in 2012.

Now he owns Performance Science & Rehab and works as the physical coach of the senior men’s national soccer team, which brought him to the recent World Cup in Qatar.

Fell spoke about the value of persevering through uncertainty and finding growth in failure. He emphasized to the students that life is hard, and the reality of that cannot be changed. But, he said, every person has control over how they view challenges and how they allow circumstances to affect them.

“Will is our internal power that can never be affected by the outside world. It is the stubbornness we develop to not succumb to unhealthy perceptions and actions,” Fell said. “Where others give in, you continue. In fact, we need these challenges for the opportunity to build and reinforce it through life.”

After a performance of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and the school’s “Alma Mater,” from the SDHS Chorus, Sites began the presentation of the diplomas.

Despite the request to hold cheers and applause until all the diplomas were handed out, many families succumbed to excitement and shouted praise from the crowd as they heard the name of their child, sibling or friend spoken into the microphone.

“May your lives be long, happy, healthy, productive,” Sites said after all diplomas were handed out. “No matter where life will take you, may there always be a little bit of sand in your shoes and a little bit of Decatur in your hearts.”

Sites told the students to turn their tassels. With a burst of fireworks from behind the stage, students threw their caps in the air, cheered, hugged each other and ran to their families.