H-D sends off 64 seniors at commencement Sunday

Addressing Hampton-Dumont’s 64 graduating seniors at the 2018 commencement ceremony Sunday, keynote speaker Anthony Spradlin let the audience in on his journey from a graduating senior himself in 1988 to his current position as H-D Middle School principal.
After high school, Spradlin said he decided college wasn’t the next practical step for him and joined the United States Marine Corps. He said teachers doubted he had the intelligence to complete higher education and that he lacked the integrity to succeed in the military.
Now 16 years as a principal and 31 years in the military, Spradlin said he kept four main areas of focus and informed the seniors that those steps will help them achieve their goals no matter the odds.
The first step, he said, was mental toughness.
“It’s the ability to ignore or overcome that little voice in your head that tells you to take the easy way out,” he said. “Every time you’re able to tell him or her ‘No,’ the next time it gets easier until you are the one making the decisions, not the little voice in your head.”
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