As May nears its conclusion, and June approaches, this season features a very special milestone long-awaited by thousands of high school seniors across North Carolina and beyond — graduation.
Parents, siblings, and even distant relatives will pack into auditorium or stadium seats, prepared to witness their loved ones clothed in a cap and gown, walk the stage, and turn their tassel.
The graduation will not only signify the completion of one chapter in a student’s life, but it will also represent the emergence of new beginnings.
Ahead of students embarking on their respective journeys, Insight Colearning Center (Insight) took a moment to honor the class of 2026 at their spring showcase.
A lot can happen in a year
Insight’s founder and executive director, Dr. Susan Haws, shared that the private school’s mission is “to prepare today’s teens to make a difference in a rapidly changing and uncertain world.” As described on their website, the nonprofit is “a high school that offers teens the opportunity to deeply explore who they are and who they want to become.”
Distinct features of the school include small class sizes of 10 or less students and outdoor learning explorations referred to as “Insight Outside.” Founded in 2018, they have served over 80 students. This year marks the celebration of their seventh graduating class.
On May 20, Insight held a spring showcase to highlight the work of students throughout the academic year, in addition to recognizing the eight seniors as they prepare to graduate.
Kevin Georgas is Insight’s director of curriculum and instruction and a humanities instructor. As the emcee for the showcase, he described the showcase as a semesterly ritual that allows the opportunity for reflection, specifically regarding the change that has been exhibited both by students and society.
Audience members chuckled as Georgas offered his opening remarks, recalling the start of the academic year, when gas was less than $3 a gallon, before the announcement of Taylor Swift’s latest album, prior to the Indiana Hoosiers winning their first national championship in football, and before the numbers “6” and “7” became a viral trend that he referred to as an “inscrutable nightmare.”
“A lot can happen in a year,” Georgas stated.
Setting the intentions for the showcase, he said, “We take time to reflect, to remind ourselves that change — while unsettling, while at times scary — the fact of change can also be a really thrilling opportunity for us.”
Throughout the remainder of the evening, students and staff were joined by family and community members as they reflected on the past year in preparation for their departure into their postsecondary endeavors.
Changed for good
In a tear-filled rendition of the duet, “For Good,” from the Wicked soundtrack, Insight students, Maya Roberson and Lucien Drew, sang the following:
“Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good.”
Later, when reflecting on their high school experience during their senior project presentation, Drew, who uses he/they pronouns, stated that prior to joining Insight, he grappled with a deep sense of hopelessness and felt little room to explore who he was or wanted to be.
“Insight made me feel like, for the first time, there was a different way to live, that there could be a place that I belong,” they stated.
Expounding on how they have been transformed over the past 3.5 years, Drew traced back to their first day at the school. Upon entering the school, sporting a rainbow fur coat, Drew was greeted by two other students and handed a miniature Oscar award that read, “Most Fashionable.”
“I knew immediately from then on that I was here to stay,” Drew stated, adding that the moment later influenced them to become Insight’s official-unofficial door greeter.
Before Insight, Drew felt like his words were meaningless, and he spoke as little as possible. Today, as an avid artist and passionate performer, Drew finds that former version of themself unrecognizable. “I feel as if I’ve learned how to discover what it means to be myself, and how to trust what I’ve always been capable of becoming,” Drew expressed.
Also a senior, George Pellom shared that he has already acquired multiple certificates in weather service from the College of Charleston, where he plans to continue his education, majoring in meteorology.
For Pellom, Insight has not only been a space to explore his interests, but also an environment that has challenged him and allowed growth.
When describing his transition to Insight, Pellom summarized that he “was in need of change,” following the difficulty of fitting in at his previous high school. Now looked upon as a pillar of the Insight community by staff and peers, Pellom shared that he has grown both in his ability to socialize and step outside of his comfort zone.
This change is exemplified in Pellom overcoming a fear as he climbed Pilot Mountain as a part of an Insight Outside experience, something he could barely think about doing two years ago.
His mom, Kristin Pellom, says that she has never seen another place like Insight where there is true cohesion within the community and instant support for each other. “They’re in a place where they feel safe. Their teachers see them for who they are” she added. “I think you can grow much more easily in an environment where you feel safe and loved and cared for, and this is that place.”
While Pellom is physically leaving Insight, he believes that he takes Insight with him in many other ways.
In all, Insight’s community manager Brittany Del Rosario expressed that the showcase is evidence of the difference made in students’ lives. She hopes that graduating students take what they’ve learned into their future endeavors and successes.
Importantly, as she offered best wishes to the class of 2026, Del Rosario shared her desire for them to continue to “find who they are and who they’re becoming.”
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