THOMASVILLE — A somber moment at Friday night’s Thomasville High School graduation ceremony was followed by deafening applause.

Travis W. Island Jr., a member of the THS Class of 2017, was not present to receive his diploma.

Island died in a predawn Thursday traffic crash.

An empty, decorated chair was positioned where he would have been seated among fellow graduates. A folded American flag lay on the seat of the white folding chair. A Bulldog banner was draped across the rear of the chair. Two small, star-shaped red and gold balloons were positioned on either side of the chair. 

Family members accepted his diploma at commencement. Those attending graduation stood in a salute to the family and delivered loud applause.

Some class members wiped away tears and bowed their heads after family members received their classmate’s diploma.

Earlier, co-valedictorian Grace Evan Fletcher told close to 150 fellow graduates they have the power to educate themselves and must decide what they will do with the power.

“The future is uncertain for all of us, even those who think they know what they want to do,” Fletcher said.

Graduates are on the right path and have been handed the right tools, she added.

The co-valedictorian told classmates they each have the ability to make a difference.

Co-valedictorian Asa Thomas Harbin instructed class members to picture their most memorable teacher.

“The neat thing is all of us in here can picture these people,” Harbin said.

Education, he said, will carry graduates to their dreams.

Harbin predicted that in a decade, members of the THS Class of 2107 “will be in good places doing good things.” 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820