College & Workforce Readiness Photos

Classes of 2014

By Education Week Photo Staff — June 18, 2014 1 min read
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High school graduation is a big milestone in a student’s academic career and a culmination of his or her hard work and persistence. It’s certainly a time of uncertainty as graduates step off of the edge of familiarity and begin the transition into adulthood.
Each year there are thousands of graduation speeches given across the country, many of which are inspiring and profound. Looking through past high school graduation speeches, this quote by Wellesley (Mass.) High School English teacher David McCullough Jr. to the class of 2012 resonated the most for us.
“I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know,” McCullough said. “How little you know now, at the moment, for today is just the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.”
As the 2014 school year ended, Education Week photo editors put together our favorite high school graduation photos from Associated Press contributing photographers and local newspapers.

Friends Lauren Powell, left, and Ryleigh Fulcher fix their hats and hair in a mirror as they wait to file into the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. for Henderson County High School’s 2014 Commencement.
Chloe Wright, from left, Ari Parker and Elissa Ropp, line up to walk down the aisle at Walla Walla (Wash.) High School’s graduation.
Members of the South Kitsap Class of 2014 peek out from behind the divider curtains to see their friends and family in the crowd prior to the start of their commencement exercises at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash.
The last few St. Vincent’s Academy students look over their shoulders before entering The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist at the beginning of their commencement in Savannah, Ga.
Joshua Johnson strides across the stage to receive his diploma as he graduates from Warren Easton Charter High School in New Orleans.
Harrison Bowe, a senior at Bellair High School in Houston, waits in his hospital room at Houston Methodist Hospital, where his parents and school representatives will hold a graduation ceremony for him. He is still recovering from surgery from complications from a rare bladder birth defect.
Millbrook High School graduates watch as white doves take flight at the end of the school’s commencement ceremony in Winchester, Va.
Marissa Ogata,17, has much to cheer about. The UCLA-bound Ogata finished third, Summa Cum Laude (GPA of 4.4 and above), among some 650 students in the 2014 graduating class at Huntington Beach High. Ogata plans to major in biology or physical therapy at UCLA, where she’ll join her sister at their grandfather’s alma mater.
Damian Ferguson, right, celebrates with classmates at the conclusion of the commencement ceremony for the Roseburg High School graduating class of 2014 at Finlay Field in Roseburg, Ore.
Shadows of Walla Walla (Wash.) High School seniors waiting to enter graduation are cast on a school wall.
Hezekiah Jordan, left, son of fallen Griffin, Ga., police officer Kevin Jordan, is embraced by his grandmother, Lillie Colquitt, while surrounded by Griffin police officers after receiving his high school diploma. Authorities have said Officer Kevin Jordan was off-duty working an overnight shift as a security guard at a Waffle House restaurant when he was fatally shot during a fight with three people who were asked to leave the business. Jordan, 43, left behind seven children.
Odessa High School graduates look onto the field prior to the start of the commencement ceremony at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, Texas.

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A version of this article first appeared in the Full Frame blog.

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