The Stanley-Boyd Class of 2024 is out the school door.
Convening in the Stanley-Boyd High School gymnasium after a forecast of bad weather and intermittent rain Friday, the 74 seniors walked in procession from behind the stage, down either side of the gym, towards the center aisle, and up to their designated seating area, all to “Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar. Event MCs Dakota Derks and Olivia Osvold welcomed fellow graduates and other attendees to the packed graduation ceremony, then introducing high school principal Tanya Mahr for the welcome address
“Parents, teachers, graduates, family, and friends, welcome and thank you for joining us. Today is the graduation ceremony of the Stanley-Boyd High School Class of 2024. It is an honor to be here with you. The candle to my right is in remembrance of those who could not be here today. Please take a moment of silence to remember them in your own way.”
Following the moment of silence, Mahr launched into her speech.
“Graduates, each of you has a plan for the future,” she said, ticking off a list of different options. “Whatever your plan, you have not made your plan without much consideration and deliberation. You’ve worked hard to get to this moment and to chase your dreams.” Referencing author and entrepreneur James Clear, Mahr told the graduates that while failure was possible, “how you respond to that failure will determine your future. True failure, in contrast, was fearing to make the wrong choice and stagnating as a result.
“Move to a new state, but be sure to call your parents,” she said, balancing new experiences with a reminder to the graduates to not forget home.
Following Mahr’s welcome and an interlude by MCs Derks and Osvold, Salutatorian Coltan Calkins took to the podium for the salutatorian address. Keeping his remarks short so that the Class could get their diplomas, Calkins paid tribute to the class as a whole.
“We have all manifested skills that will be incredibly beneficial as we enter this new chapter of our lives,” he said. “We all know now how to be self starters, communicate individually or with a large group, and we learned at a young age how to be in charge of ourselves. I would like to congratulate each and every one of you for your resilience to get to this point.” Wishing his fellow graduates luck in their future endeavors and thanking teachers as well as graduates’ families, Calkins closed his speech by quoting singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj.
“Your victory is right around the corner, never give up,” he said.
From Calkin’s speech the program progressed to a choir performance of “United” by Pinkzebra, under the direction of Choir Director Louella Derrico, and then to the valedictory address by Valedictorian Vaughn Schneider, who took the moment to give a birthday greeting to his dad and grandfather.
“Here we are at our high school graduation on May 10 of all days. What does that mean? Well, it means I get to take a golden opportunity that I refuse to pass up. So that said, I want to wish a very happy 54th birthday to my dad Jeff Schneider. I also want to wish a happy 82nd birthday to his dad, my grandpa. Yes I was also surprised they have the same birthday.”
Going on to say that the class was historic in graduating early by a fortnight, Schneider said
“You might know the popular school trope of ‘the new kid,’ the kid who transfers to a new school for any set of reasons. You might think ‘we have a few kids like that, but how many exactly? Graduates, I want you to take a look at the person to your left. Now take a look to the person to your right. Now take a look at yourself. As it turns out, of the 73 of us here tonight, over one-third of us here tonight, at some point, have been that new kid. That’s also someone that at some point we’ve accepted into Stanley-Boyd as one of us. I think a lot about how diverse and community oriented we are at the same time…we as a class have always been eager to welcome new members.”
Touching next on the experience of COVID freshman year, Schneider said the class was the last generation to go through school with the “COVID year.” From scheduling conflicts to fighting lack of motivation, the class had balanced learning with world change, showing determination along the way.
Exhorting his fellow graduates to stick with it in spite of challenges, Schneider closed out his speech by quoting music artist Cardi B as a representation of what the class had been through and its resilience.
“You never live till you risk your life.” With presentation of the class by Mahr and diplomas presented by Greg Burzynski, Denise Hoffstatter, Toni Seidl, and Becky Peterson, the Class of 2024 went out to take on the world.
