It was a rough few days for Micah Price, but in the end, he came out on top.
Price, a recent graduate of Campbell County High School in Alexandria, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, was finally awarded his diploma on Wednesday after the school withheld it because he spoke about his Christian faith during his commencement speech five days earlier.
WXIX-TV in Newport, Kentucky, reported that the young man submitted eight drafts of his speech to the school, which told him to take out portions that focused on his faith.
Price told the station it had been one of his goals since the fifth grade to deliver a speech on graduation day and he “prayed about it a lot.” As his opportunity was an answer to his prayers, he wanted to show his thanks to God, he said.
In spite of the school’s warning, Price decided to go off-script and honor God anyway at the end of his speech.
“Class, before another word is to leave my mouth, I must give the honor and the praise and the glory to my lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” he said.
“He is the way, the truth and the life,” Price said.
“Class, anyone in the audience tonight, I’m here to tell you that if you don’t have any of those things in your life, you can’t seem to find the answer, that my lord and savior is your answer.”
High school graduate DENIED diploma for pointing classmates to Christ in commencement speech.
“My Lord and Savior is your answer. He will give you the truth, the way and the life.”
The graduate, Micah Price, was denied his diploma because he deviated from the speech previously… pic.twitter.com/CzhSKbEpxJ
— Standing for Freedom Center (@freedomcenterlu) May 28, 2024
Many of those in attendance cheered the young man’s words of faith.
However, the school didn’t have the same reaction. It decided to withhold his diploma.
Thankfully, Price was awarded his diploma on Wednesday.
In an interview with WXIX, the new graduate gave his side of the story.
“I just finished, I went back to get my envelope which was going to have my diploma in it. One of the principals just came up and tapped me on the shoulder and, very respectfully, very professionally, just said, ‘You went off-script, you’re going to have to talk to the board now,’” he said.
While it might seem shocking that the principal would immediately withhold the diploma, Price wasn’t surprised by the decision.
“I knew it was going to be held,” he said. “Because before you do anything, they tell us if you go up there and do a cartwheel or something stupid, that will get your diploma held and you will have to speak in front of a board.”
When asked why he would take the risk in the face of such consequences, the young man said that Christ’s role in his life is too important to be silent about.
Did this student do the right thing?
“I simply cannot hold back what Christ has done in my life,” Price said. “He’s everything to me.”
He also showed maturity by taking responsibility for violating the school’s rules and saying he holds no bad blood against his alma mater.
“I went against the rules. It was my fault. I was the one who should be in trouble. Never once did I ever want to bring hate to them or tear down the school,” Price said.
Despite the hiccup, it’s nice to see that everything worked out for him in the end. He stuck to his guns, kept a good attitude and eventually got his diploma.
While it may have been a nerve-racking few days for the teen, he didn’t face any significant punishment for having the courage to speak about his faith.
Not to mention the fact that the controversy gave his Christ-centered message a big platform.
In a time when being a Christian can seem taboo to many, Price showed that when you have the courage to stand up for God, he will stand up for you, too.
WXIX reported that he intends to join the Air Force in July, but the whole ordeal has put the thought of doing ministry work into his mind.
Whatever his decision, we wish him all the best moving forward.
