When she was in sixth grade, not long after her diagnosis of Stage 2 diabetes, Lilly Grimes met someone who would become, in her words, “my rock” for the remainder of an educational journey that culminated with her graduation Saturday from Anderson High School.
Lola, Grimes’ diabetic alert dog, clad in a custom-made red gown and mortar board, walked with Grimes as she received her diploma.
Lola is classified as a service dog and is trained to smell compounds that are released from Grimes’ body when her blood sugar rises or falls to dangerous levels. That training allows Lola to alert her owner before she begins to show symptoms.
Throughout high school, the dog accompanied Grimes to all of her classes every day and rarely left her side at extracurricular activities. Lola's inclusion in the ceremony was, school administrators thought, a fitting reminder of the unusual circumstances that Grimes and the rest of her classmates had persevered through to arrive at graduation day.
“She gets me through anything tough that I need to get through,” Grimes said. “She’s my push of persistence. I’m really grateful to have her.”
Grimes, who will attend Indiana University’s Bloomington campus in the fall, addressed 137 of her fellow graduates and their families and friends gathered at Collier Field.
She reminded them how their individual and collective persistence had seen them through a host of difficulties — the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by two years of virtual and hybrid learning, a turbulent national and local economy, uncertainty about job prospects after high school and college — and said their determination would continue to serve them well.
“Many of you have had your own challenges to face,” she said. “We have been through many things together that, looking back, embody this idea of persistence.
“Nelson Mandela once said, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done,’” she continued. “Through the lens of a high school graduate, this quote is so much more powerful. We thought it was all impossible. But look now. It’s all done.”
Grimes' message was one of several throughout the day — which included two ceremonies to accommodate a total of 289 graduates — that included themes of encouragement for the graduates to forge paths that would make their families proud.
"One choice can change your life," said Class President Payton Sargent. "It's not the size of the choice but the quality of the choice. I encourage everybody to choose greatness."
Administrators with Anderson Community Schools emphasized to the graduates that, as they forge their own way in the world, they can also rely on the supportive relationships they’ve built over their 13-year academic careers.
The graduates, ACS Superintendent Joe Cronk said, “need to lean on their resilience.” He said the pandemic in particular exemplifies the unprecedented experiences that the Class of 2023 navigated through before emerging well-equipped to confront a world that will only continue to change and challenge them.
“They need to look back on that and be elastic, be resilient, always use their support structures,” Cronk said. “There’s a whole group of people that love these kids that will stand behind them.”
“The reality is, they’ve dealt with something none of us ever dealt with when we came through school,” added Anderson High School Principal Scott Shimer. “I think that’s shaped them in some capacity, and I also think it’s helped them focus on the tools that they have and made them even better. Hopefully, they’ll take all that and run with it.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.