As St. Peter High School’s graduating class of 2024 turned their eyes to limitless possibilities that await them, class president Molly Leonard reminded her peers to appreciate the memories made in their time at school.
Speaking to a crowded gymnasium during Friday’s commencement ceremony, Leonard recalled feeling eager to be done with school in the months leading up to graduation day. But as the date approached, Leonard realized that she would never be a high schooler again. The experiences and relationships she built with her peers over 13 years would fade into memory.
Yet the class president reassured her peers that even if they forget the names and faces of the people sitting next to them on their graduation day, they will never forget how their classmates made them feel.
“Forgetting the people doesn’t mean you forget the love or the feelings, you carry that with you forever,” said Leonard. “Every word, every encounter, every little thing you’ve experienced culminates into the person you are today. All of the good, all of the bad, all of it becomes you.”
The strange, exhilarating and at times anxious feeling of stepping away from the life one has known and into the world of adulthood was a common theme which ran throughout St. Peter High School’s class of 2024 commencement ceremony.
In his opening commencement address, senior Brenden Larson reflected on the new, unfamiliar territory he and his peers were heading into. For 13 years, Larson noted that their lives were centered around schooling with the same people, but now everyone was preparing to move on to other things.
”We’ve experienced something special. We got to grow up,” said Larson. “We’re not the same people we used to be. We took our experiences and then interpreted them and molded them into the person you are today.”
Senior Grace Tollefson echoed similar points in her commencement address. In the rush to graduate and move on past high school, she noted it was easy to take for granted the ordinary moments that make growing up so special.
”The possibilities of the future are so exciting we disregard the beautiful everyday moments that occur right around us,” said Tollefson. Senior year makes it so incredibly easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of anticipation for what comes next … but true fulfillment lies right in front of you.”
As the graduating class moves on to the next chapter of their lives, senior commencement speaker Nabiil Jamac advised his classmates to act as navigators in their own lives and take charge of steering themselves toward their own destiny.
“Be the light that allows you to set your own path. Carve your own lighthouse into this world. The light that guides itself and others across the sea that gives you confidence and security,” said Jamac. “No matter what may come into your journey of growth, know that your life is pioneered by you and you alone, so take charge and know that you can.”
The graduates heard one final commencement address from retiring South Elementary Principal Doreen Oelke, who reminded the former students that key lessons which once carried them through Kindergarten can help them navigate adulthood. Lessons like “sharing is caring,” “play fair,” “treat others the way you want to be treated,” and “nap time is sacred,” aren’t just for youngsters.
After those parting words, the seniors crossed the St. Peter High School stage one by one to accept their diplomas and simultaneously step into the adult world.
Most Popular
Comments / 0