BIXBY, Okla. — It’s graduation season and as students finish their senior year, one graduation photo is getting a lot of attention.
It shows dozens of Bixby High School graduates on their phones during the graduation ceremony.
“At the graduation ceremony last week, Mr. Adams at the very beginning just made an announcement to everyone out there and said to all the students, asked them to take out their phones and everyone to take a selfie, now send it to someone who has helped you get here,” says Ray Blake, the head wrestling coach at Bixby High school.
The students thanked teachers, mentors and parents.
“When we made that announcement, after 10-to-15 seconds or so, I felt in my pocket starting to buzz,” Blake said.
Blake said he received not one, or two, but three texts from some of his students. This was coach Ray’s first year at Bixby and in Oklahoma. He says the students’ texts were extra special to him after moving here from across the country this past year.
“As a coach, or educator, you don’t do it for the money and you don’t do it for the recognition, or fame,” Blake said. “You do it to hopefully help some of the people along the way.”
He says he hopes his students take this graduation lesson out into the real world — understanding the impact they can have on others.
“Remember the lessons and the values they learned here at Bixby and their homes up to this point and carry those with them and recognize: you don’t get places on your own. It takes a village. And be grateful for the opportunities and the people who helped them get where they are today.”
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