Families and friends gathered at the Frank Erwin Center today to celebrate the successes of L. C. Anderson High School's graduating seniors.

Principal Sammi Harrison opened the ceremony by welcoming everyone and congratulating the Class of 2019. She then introduced the award-winning Anderson choir, which performed "The Road Home."

Superintendent Paul Cruz congratulated the 514 graduates, and recognized some of the class's achievements.

• Choir students competed and earned superior ratings at UIL competition. 
• Academic distinctions from Texas Education Agency in math, science, social studies, English Language Arts and post-secondary readiness. 
• Gabriel Rumrich, MVP baseball player headed to Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Valedictorian Brett Bussey thanked his family and teachers for their support during his time at Anderson and offered some advice to his fellow graduates.

"The point of life, and I can say this with confidence, is to never forget the people who made you the person you are today. Honor the mortality with meaning, but above all else, continue to try to be better person, learn something, be someone nice to someone else," Bussey said."You alone dictate terms and condition of your own life. Every day is a milestone, a new step in a seemingly endless journey. In the end, is not the years in our life, but the life in our years."

Salutatorian Zoe Snead also expressed gratitude for the support she received from family, classmates and Anderson teachers.

"Chaos is part of life, I learned that it is simply unavoidable. But we have to learn to embrace it," Snead said. "Embrace means finding comedy and joy ... Enjoy the weirdness and goofiness in the world, and let that lighten the world."