GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – High school graduations are happening across the east, and one county continued into day two of their ceremonies.

Smiles, laughter, and excitement couldn’t be contained Saturday as thousands of Pitt County seniors walked the stage at graduation.

“I never knew I would be here until today,” Ayden-Grifton High School graduate Austin Huntparra said.

Family and friends of loved ones from Farmville Central, South Central, Ayden-Grifton, and North Pitt High School filled Minges Coliseum in Greenville, as they began a new chapter in life.

South Central High School graduate Curtis Ransome reflected on what it took to be where he is now.

“Not just a successful young man but a successful African American young boy,” Ransome said. “We don’t get a lot of credit but when it comes down to it we did it also.”

Some parents aren’t strangers to graduations.

“This is the 10th graduation,” Parent Ravon Roundtree said. ” I have two left as a father of 12 children. Six girls and six boys.”

To others like Angela Parker, graduation has a bigger meaning. After her granddaughter lost her dad in 2022, she knew it was important to inspire her to get through school.

“Everybody falls down sometimes but you can always get back up,” Parker said.

Now having crossed the stage, the graduates are ready to embark on their next journey one step at a time.

“I’m starting ECU in the fall,” Ayden-Grifton High School graduate Madison Adams said. “I got a full ride to nursing school.”

The class of 2024 had over $26 million of scholarship money offered to them, something parents said everyone should be proud of.

“No matter what the obstacles are if you truly believe you can achieve,” Roundtree said.

According to Pitt County schools, in this graduating class, there are 59 who earned their Associate degree, 75 who plan to enter the U.S. Military, and over 1,000 who plan to continue studies in higher education.