HIGH POINT, N.C. — A North Carolina principal channeled his inner Whitney Houston to give graduating seniors a memorable sendoff.

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Marcus Gause, the principal at T. Wingate Andrews High School in High Point, belted out a spirited, a cappella rendition of “I Will Always Love You,” WFMY reported.

The students cheered as the principal sang the Dolly Parton ballad, which Houston reprised nearly two decades later for the 1992 movie, “The Bodyguard.”

The video was filmed by Winston McGregor, a school board member of Guilford County Schools, according to WFMY.

“Of course, there’s a nervousness because nobody sings behind Whitney Houston and greats like Dolly Parton, but the lyrics were what I was trying to portray to my students,” Gause told WTVD. “One of the things that the pandemic has really taught us is that we need more love, that students know that we love and care for them.”

The graduating seniors appreciated their principal’s surprise.

“Mr. Gause singing to us something I will never forget,” Mekhi McRae told WTVD. “He is a big part of why I am who I am today.”

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