Terrance Rice, 18, who came to Crim High School as a junior, spends a lot of his time helping out his teachers in any way that he can. He loves the culture of his high school and describes his class mates as welcoming and hilarious.
Terrance is not your average kid. He is witty, funny, and loves star gazing. He spends his time looking at stars because he says he can imagine things to be whatever he wants them to be.
“I like to imagine or see how other people see things, a different perspective than my own,” he said.
Throughout his academic journey, Terrance has fought to get to his graduation day. He struggled with taking his academics seriously. When he wasn’t feeling school, he would miss the bus on purpose and stay home.
His role model was his grandfather, who constantly encouraged him to focus on school. In spring of 2018, Terrance lost his grandfather, which sent him into depression. A depression he struggled to beat daily, but he did. He enrolled into Crim after stopping his education at Therrell in hopes of gaining enough credits to graduate.
“I had to finish for my grandfather. I had to do it for him. I may have messed up, but I will make it right for him.” he said as he teared up thinking about how far he has come.
Overcomer is who Terrance Rice is. He didn’t let the weight of his world stop him from becoming successful, because he was willing to face his circumstance head on. Not only will he graduate this May, but he will also be attending college.
“It’s not worth it. Look how the world is changing today. You are going to need all of the education you can get today because the real world is hard” are the words of advice he leaves to students still trudging through the journey of academia.
| University/College: | University of Arizona |
| Intended Major: | Mechanical Engineering |
| Career Goal: | Engineer |
Atlanta Public Schools will host high school commencement exercises Saturday, May 18 – Friday, May 24, 2019. All ceremonies — except Atlanta Classical Academy and Charles R. Drew Charter School — will be held at Georgia Institute of Technology, McCamish Pavilion,965 Fowler Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. For more information on commencement exercises, go to www.atlantapublicschools.us/gradnation.
We Are APS highlights APS visionaries (parents, students, teachers, principals, support staff, community members, partners, etc.), who exemplify our vision of a high-performing school district where students love to learn, educators inspire, families engage, and the community trusts the system. To recommend an APS visionary for a We Are APS feature, contact your communications liaison or email apscommunicationsoffice@gmail.com.
