Aspire to greatness, commencement speaker tells South Range grads

CANFIELD

It was a tall order he had, said the Rev. Jessie Johnson of Midway Mennonite Church, to launch the South Range High School Class of 2015 on its path to greatness.

So the Rev. Mr. Johnson, keynote speaker at the class’s commencement Saturday evening, decided to use the example of a man whose life turned completely around in an instant. In that one instant, the Rev. Mr. Johnson said, he was no longer who he thought he’d be.

Kevin Pearce, a snowboarder on the brink of superstardom in the sport, would have that chance taken away from him in a horrific accident.

In the struggle that followed as he underwent rehabilitation and reassessed his life, Pearce would undergo a metamorphosis from being an extremely impressive snowboarder to a great human being.

Read more of his story and plans some of the grads have for their rise to greatness in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.