Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Inspire Virtual Academy made history with its first ever graduation ceremony for its senior students on Friday.

Thirteen students throughout Chambers County School District graduated at the ALFA Insurance building in LaFayette. Inspire Academy Principal Dr. Tyler Nelson presented the diplomas. Senior Anyssa Maddux gave opening remarks about how IVA has impacted her education.

Maddux thanked her teachers and classmates at IVA for their support and encouragement throughout her education.

“I am truly thankful for all the teachers and friends I have had in my life. I was taught something from each of them. The teachers at Inspire Virtual Academy this year have been my encouragers and champions. I would not be standing here without y’all’s help,” Maddux said. “As Dr. Seuss says sometimes you will never know the value of a moment before it becomes a memory. I’m thankful to leave Inspire Virtual Academy with a lot of good memories.”

During her speech, Maddux explained the obstacles she had to overcome while she was in high school.

“As for me, this is a very big accomplishment,” Maddux said. “I had a baby in the middle of my junior year, and that made school even more difficult for me. People have doubted me and made me feel as if I couldn’t be as successful. I have to admit there were plenty of times I thought they might be right.”

Inspire Virtual Academy is the online education program at Inspire Academy that promotes equitable learning. The program allows students to take courses virtually or online in person and is open to all CCSD students.

Online education allows students to work from anywhere on their own time. If a student has a question about the curriculum, they can email their instructor or come by Inspire Academy for help.

Being a teen mom was a challenge, but the support she received from her family and teachers at IVA helped her cross the finish line.

“However, the day I was blessed with my precious boy was the day I had to change and the reason I had to push through everything. My precious son is the reason I do it all,” Maddux said. “My parents and support system are how I did it, and the goodness and mercy of God is what gave me the strength to do it.”

The online school is also dedicated to academic intervention. When students fall behind, IVA instructors bring them into the class to help them get back on track.

IVA also utilizes the ACCESS Franchise Model, a state-accredited virtual learning platform facilitated through the University of Alabama.

Along with Maddux, twelve other students from Inspire Virtual Academy graduated: Kilee Grace Bozeman, Ashlyn Elizabeth Collings, Logen Dean Davidson, Grace Ansley Easterwood, Justin Kade Freeman, Landon Taylor Johnston, Lawton Lauderdale, Skyler Nicole Meadows, Alejandro Karim Munoz Starr, Kolby Scott Null, Quenton Isaac Rachel and Benjamin Thomas Robinson.

“The day has come for us to start the next chapter of our lives,” Maddux said. “We have counted down the years, days, hours, and minutes, the stressful days of wishing it would end, and it has.”