"You have to make sure that you live the life that they could have lived"

Excel Academy seniors throw their caps in the air after the graduation ceremony. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

In Washington Post article, In Baltimore, the joy and relief of making it through high school alive, reporter Steve Hendrix spotlights Excel Academy's recently graduated class of 2017. Over the past school year, 5 students have been shot dead but their community has proved it's resiliency in tragedy. "The heroic answer to violence is to give the students the gift of normality."