BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — After a year of virtual learning and dealing with the global pandemic, students of Capitol High School held their graduation ceremony at the Crown Plaza on Sunday.

“I was happy when they told me I was going to be able to come and walk the stage instead of doing it virtually,” says graduate Marcus Montague.

But online learning was not the only battle he faced in his last year of high school. “Me being a healthy person as I am, I ain’t know me of all people would get diagnosed,” says Montague.

Montague has Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. “I had to battle through cancer, and that was a tough one. It was tough for me personally, physically, and mentally,” says Montague.

He said he got through it with the support of his family, and of course, his friends. “To really see how many people applauding for me, to see how many friends I really, truly have,” says Montague.

Now that he has completed high school, he is looking forward to his next chapter. “College. I want to go to culinary school. I love to cook. I still love to cook,” says Montague. He hopes to attend the Louisiana Culinary Institute.