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E.C. Glass awards diplomas to Class of 2025; principal urges graduates to ‘choose to be kind’
Summary
E.C. Glass High School held its 2025 commencement where Principal Dr. Danny Ruhl and interim Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Copeland conferred diplomas. Student speakers reflected on resilience; the principal highlighted academic achievements including 83 students with high honors and 62 with 4.0 GPAs.
E.C. Glass High School conferred diplomas to its Class of 2025 at a commencement ceremony at the school, where interim Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Copeland formally declared the students graduates and Principal Dr. Danny Ruhl delivered the principal’s charge.
In a brief address to graduates, Dr. Ruhl told the class, “Choose to be kind,” urging students to make kindness a guiding principle as they move beyond high school. The principal also noted academic and extracurricular achievements, saying the senior class “participated in over 20 clubs and extracurricular activities,” produced state-level competition winners and included “83 with high honors” and “62 of these individuals have 4 or higher.”
The ceremony included remarks by student speakers and the presentation of the colors and the E.C. Glass Alma Mater performed by the E.C. Glass A Capella Choir under the direction of Dr. Eunice Nogaris. Salutatorian Wendy Oluwaji, introduced by Dr. Ruhl, reflected on perseverance and sacrifice and told classmates, “you are a person who does hard things.” Student speakers Will Wesley, Scott Pabas and Keeley Jenkins also addressed the class; Wesley closed by saying, “I know we will succeed, because we are the E. C. Glass class of 2025,” and Pabas urged graduates not to let others “claim your success.”
Interim Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Copeland conferred graduation status on the students and said, “by the powers invested in me by the Lynchburg City School Board and the Commonwealth of Virginia, I declare you the class of 2025 E. C. Glass graduates.” After diplomas were conferred, families were instructed that they could meet graduates at the top of the concourse as the ceremony recessed.
The principal’s remarks emphasized both accomplishments and character. Dr. Ruhl praised students for varied post‑graduation plans — including art schools, collegiate athletics, certificate programs and entry into the workforce — and singled out the class’s contributions to band and orchestra programs that earned “programs of distinction.” The ceremony followed the school’s established graduation protocols and included the traditional turning of tassels and recessing of graduates.
