Dr. Belle Wheelan was choking back the tears as she addressed Lake Braddock's Class of 2002 assembled on the football field on Tuesday, June 18. Wheelan's son Reginald was among the graduates.
Her voiced cracked after a pause of silence.
"I'm never going to get through this without crying," she said.
It made the graduates all that more attentive before they started the tip drill with an assortment of beach balls, that is.
"Now the proof of your achievement will be put to a test. Learning will not cease with your graduation today," she said. She is the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
For those who weren't familiar with the senior class or the Wheelan family, she didn't let out the secret until mid-way through her tears. "My own son is a member of this class," she said.
Principal Linda Burke addressed the crowd as well, looking back on the turmoil of Sept. 11.
"We faced a year of promise and in a brief moment, we each faced a different world, a fearful world," she said.
She stressed the beginning of work as well for the graduates.
"Let nothing in this world stand between you and your dreams. Hard work still remains at the cornerstone of success," she said.
The few clouds in the sky were no shield for the relentless sun beating down on the crowd. Those that brought umbrellas used them to the fullest. Ozetta Evans was in town from Memphis, Tenn., seeing her granddaughter Cathy Ann Evans get her diploma.
"They should have told us to bring umbrellas and water," she said.
Some would have rather been inside though.
"It was definitely too hot, it would have been a lot more comfortable inside," said Regan Frake.
Her sister, diploma in hand, wasn't so particular. She even got a swipe at the bouncing beach ball.
"It wasn't that bad. I just kept it away from the teachers," said Kelley Frake.
Jackie West navigated the grass terrain in three-inch silver heels.
"They worked. I would hate to be trapped inside," she said.
Sarah Goral's friends thought they were at a homecoming football game as the paraded their version of a float along the sidelines during one part.
ALTHOUGH THERE WERE several valedictorians, Raashi Rastogi was recognized for her 4.107 grade point average.
"We will have our bad hair days," she said.
The faculty award went to Robert Jasinski before the two-pronged diploma distribution began. In one line, they started with the A's and in another line, they started in the middle of the alphabet, speeding the process.
Amber Wise was seeing her brother Jesse Wise. She dressed accordingly in a summer dress.
"You can fit more people," she said of the outdoor setting.
She graduated a few years before so finding her brother to take a picture wasn't very hard, even though the police stationed around the field would only let camera-toting relatives go so far.
"I know where I sat when I graduated," she said.
Anna Kopko strolled among the graduates in the field when it was over. She was taking it all in.
"It was warm but nice. The beach balls are a part of graduation," she said.
In the fall, she plans on attending Old Dominion University, majoring in physical therapy, which will require seven years of school instead of four. She wasn't worried.
"I just got done with 12 years, seven more isn't too bad," she said.