The 107 graduates of CedarBridge Academy were praised by principal Kenneth Caesar as the “class of change” at the ceremony yesterday closing out their four years of high school education.

Darren Trott, a 2013 CedarBridge graduate who was challenged from birth by a spinal defect, told the celebration at Flora Duffy Stadium of how he changed in the face of life’s unexpected demands.

Determined to take the stairs at CedarBridge instead of using the elevators, even though it made him late to his classes, Mr Trott said: “I was always somebody who hated it when somebody told me I could not do something.

“I did not use my disability as an excuse, but rather as a way to stay determined to achieve my goals.”

He added: “Throughout my whole life, my parents and family instilled the goal of education in me from a young age.

“My mother always spoke to me about speaking your goals into existence.”

But Mr Trott admitted he had coasted on his academic advantage to take “the short route” in school, and still earn top grades.

“At college, I learnt the hard way that this was not going to work if I wanted to achieve my goals.”

In his actuarial studies at Bermuda College followed by Georgia State University, Mr Trott found he had to push himself much further.

He told graduates: “The moment you stay within your comfort zone, you are choosing not to change.

“It’s important to get out of your comfort zone and constantly challenge yourself to grow. It doesn’t stop in high school.

“There will always be challenges that cause you to embrace change.”

He added: “What sacrifices are you willing to make in order to achieve your goals? What are you willing to change within yourself to overcome your challenges?

“Are you willing to step outside your comfort zone?”

Mr Caesar told the graduates they represented “the core values of CedarBridge Academy” who chose “a new growth experience” rather than bowing to the academic disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He noted that the students’ final year at school had been their first back in the building on a full-time basis since the pandemic.

Mr Caesar said: “They are here with a changed mindset, a changed attitude, and when you hear their accomplishments today, you will know they are here to change Bermuda and change the world.”

Out of the 107 graduated, 50 are male and 57 female, with 89 leaving with the Bermuda school diploma, five with alternative school diplomas, five with the Bermuda functional skills certificate and eight graduating from the Penn Foster programme.

One graduate earned their Bermuda school diploma with distinction and 11 took honours.

Eighty have been accepted by one or more college, with 78 accepted at the Bermuda College.

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