Fallon speaks to attacked school’s grads
‘Keep making us proud,’ he says at private event
SUNRISE, Fla. — Graduating seniors at the Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people in February received diplomas Sunday and heard from surprise commencement speaker Jimmy Fallon, who urged them to move forward and “don’t let anything stop you.”
Four families received diplomas on behalf of loved ones slain in the attack that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control. Principal Ty Thompson underscored the honors for the dead students in a tweet.
“Remember those not with us, and celebrate all the successes the Class of 2018 has brought to the community and the world!” Thompson tweeted.
The “Tonight Show” host offered similar praise, saying, “You are not just the future — you are the present. Keep changing the world. Keep making us proud.”
Graduate Shannon Recor said afterward that Fallon “made us laugh and cry.”
“He brought a positive energy; I’m glad he came,” Recor said.
The private ceremony for the nearly 800 members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School class of 2018 was at the BB&T Center, where the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers play. It was moved to the arena to accommodate the crowd. Reporters were not permitted inside.
The school presented diplomas to the families of Nicholas Dworet, Joaquin Oliver, Meadow Pollack and Carmen Schentrup.
Graduate Chris Grady said their families received standing ovations when they walked on stage, with Oliver’s mom wearing a T-shirt that read, “This should be my son.”
He said graduates Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, who have become prominent in the “March for Our Lives” gun-control movement, got a mixed response as their names were announced. Gonzalez got cheers, he said, while Hogg got a mix of cheers and boos.