Gov. Beshear receives alumni award from former high school

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – It was a historic day at Henry Clay High School on Friday.

Governor Andy Beshear, received the Inaugural FCPS “Distinguished Alumni” Award, which will now be ‘named’ in honor of the Governor.

“I had no idea you were going to name it after me,” said Gov. Beshear. “So it is truly an honor and one I hope others will appreciate as they come through.”

Beshear, a graduate of Henry Clay High School, remembers his time in the halls.

“I came into Fayette County Public Schools a shy kid, not sure about the world around him or who liked him.”

Even walking into some classrooms and speak with current students.

He says he remembers the struggles he went through as a teenager and says he thinks it’s harder for teens today.

“The pressures that you all are facing are tougher than anything that I had to go through, that many of your educators had to go through. So I hope that you see us as listening.”

Beshear spoke about the heartbreak the school has felt the last few weeks.

“To be your age and to lose two classmates, that isn’t easy. Grief is hard. It’s difficult and I’m sorry that you all as a community have had to deal with the lose of Emmanuel and Deon.”

The Governor telling students and staff, it’s okay not to be okay, “an inexplicable loss of two high school students and classmates. It’s okay to reach out people, you are not alone.”

Beshear graduated from Henry Clay in 1996.