COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the announcements that Gov. Mike DeWine made during his daily COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday was the issuing of guidance by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Health about how the Class of 2020 will go about having high school graduation.
Prior to stating that there will be no graduation ceremonies that are considered mass gatherings in Ohio, DeWine read a message from his son-in-law, Bill Darling, who is also the track and cross country coach at Thomas Worthington High School.
"There is a song making the rounds these days that was written by my good friend Eric Gnezda called ‘True Heroes.’ In it, he sings, ‘True heroes are measured by what they give away.’ In the spring of 2020, for you seniors, you gave up a lot.
You gave up most of your last semester of high school. You gave up normal graduation, grad parties and prom. And you gave up your last track season.
It would be far better to look at not what was taken from you, but what you gave. You gave it up to save the lives of your fellow Ohioans. You gave it up knowing that, in all likelihood, you may have been fine -- but others would have been in peril.
In these next few years, look around your table. Keep your eyes up in your community. See them. Know that there are people who will be with us for years to come -- people who are so precious and so valuable. They will be here because of what you have given away.”
DeWine was somewhat emotional as he read the message from Darling, then proceeded to lay out how the state is recommending schools handle graduations. You can watch the message in the player above.
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