Downtown Raleigh hosts graduates and GOP Convention
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Thousands packed the Raleigh Convention Center on Saturday with one goal in mind--setting their sights on the future.
On one end of the center, more than 20,000 high school graduates and guests celebrated the Class of 2015. This weekend, Wake County Schools will hold eight commencement ceremonies downtown. It began with the Green Hope High graduates.
"It's a little sad because we're not going to see a lot of these people any more, but it's really exciting," said Kaylin Lang, a GHHS graduate with plans to study business at North Carolina State University and overseas in Germany.
On the other side of the convention center, presidential hopefuls, state office candidates, and other Republicans packed the hallways for state GOP business.
"We're getting ready for 2016," said Buck Newton, who's running for North Carolina Attorney General.
Even with the crowds, the staggered graduation times combined with early starts didn't pose any traffic or parking issues.
Excited graduates described collegiate and professional plans with a little advice coming from across the convention center floor.
"Keep working," Newton offered the newly minted grads. "Never stop working. Life and learning never stop."
