Plans change, but the future is bright for Inspiration Academy graduates

At a graduating class of 21, Inspiration Academy’s fourth commencement ceremony is at its biggest yet.

Family and friends gathered at the Bridge Church at Palma Sola Bay on Saturday afternoon to revel in the celebration.

Because the class was so intimate, graduates received their diplomas as well as individual blessings from faculty and staff. Whether it was recalling first-day jitters or strong personality traits, or even poking fun back at the class clown, each sendoff was filled with excitement and eagerness to see what was in store for them next.

Director of college counseling Kendall Bowman presented Ali Alger, who was the class-elected speaker.

Alger was accepted to seven higher education institutions, but she was forgoing it all. Bowman cried, she said.

“I didn’t cry because I thought she was choosing wrong,” Bowman said. Rather, she was proud that Alger was chasing her calling by going on a year-long mission trip, starting in Guatemala.

That might not have been her original plan, she said in her speech at the ceremony. The same could have been said for many of her 20 other peers.

“In almost all of our situations, the plans we came into the year with have drastically changed,” Alger said. “Not because our aspirations have faded or our goals have changed or because we didn’t make it, but because God wrecked our plans in the most beautiful way.”

They don’t know where they’re going, she said. But they know who is leading the way.

“Nothing scares me more than missing out on living in the purpose I was created for and possibly missing my calling,” she said. “Nothing scares me more than opening the door in front of me and missing the better door around the corner.”

The school’s theme this year was “uncharted territory,” but Alger said that shouldn’t make the graduates uneasy.

“Plans change, but God doesn’t,” she said.

This story was originally published May 27, 2017 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Plans change, but the future is bright for Inspiration Academy graduates."