GALLERY: Green River High graduation

By Alice Wadley

The Green River High School class of 2018 held their graduation ceremony on May 24. Daniela Mendez welcomed everyone to the graduation and congratulated the class on their achievements and graduation. She attributed a lot of her high school success to playing sports. She learned the value of hard work, working with others and sportsmanship.
Salutatorian Miranda Johnson addressed the class. She said, when I graduated from sixth grade there was no way I was a Salutatorian. I wasn’t the best student, but there was one thing I loved to do prove people wrong. I started working hard to get good grades. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it. My class has always done what needed to be done to get by. The proof is we are all graduating as a class tonight. Throughout high school things happen. We find things we want to do. These years will shape us for the rest of our lives. People use the skills they learned in high school to make decisions for the rest of their lives. They say high school is just the beginning of life. If we compare it to a book I would say high school is like chapter one. It is very important. Chapter one sets the whole foundation for the book. If high school is chapter one, I hope all of the chapters of the book are as good as chapter one.
Valedictorian Lindsey McFarlane spoke to the class. She said, my favorite word in the dictionary is can. When I say I can I’m being positive. All of us can say we can and we all succeed. If we say can’t we are limiting what we can do. It is our choice to be who we are. The class of 2018 has learned many things in our high school years. We have learned how to extinguish a grease fire, math and many other things. We have done what needs to be done to graduate. Lindsey used a song from the movie Moana. The song is about pushing limits and pressing forward. If you don’t ask the question the answer will always be no. Some of us have already started jobs for our future, some of will go to college and others serve in the military.
My least favorite word in the dictionary is mediocrity. We are all capable of extraordinary things. We need to take risks to succeed. We have the choice to be happy in life. We all can strive for more. Congratulations to the class of 2018.
Ren Hatt was the keynote speaker for the evening. Hatt said, I was the Salutatorian for the class of 2003. Since that time I’ve become a little older and wiser. When I went to law school in Ohio I told people my graduating class had 10 students. They were all amazed a school could be that small. They asked what do you do in a town that small. I said everything. You play sports and are in school plays. If you don’t do everything no one else will. There is nothing you can’t do because you come from a small place. In life you need to make a decision. You need to work toward your goals and potential. You’re young you can make mistakes. I like to say there is no designated path for you to take.
Hatt quoted Martin Luther King Jr., “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” In life we need to have gratitude, not by merely saying thank you. You should do all of your work with a grateful heart. I commend you for being here today. I hope everything you do in life you do it with Pirate pride.
Principal Kacey Fluckey said, most of the time I have had with this class has been a pleasure. She used the book the House on Mango Street and the character Esperanza as an example. Principal Fluckey and the class studied the book when the class entered high school. Esperanza is a character in the book who is trying to find herself. She decides to change her name to be a different person. Eventually she realizes she doesn’t need to change her name. She accepted who she was. This class has accepted who they are. They have matured into the adults they are now. The story of Esperanza was told in a series of vignettes. In their Freshman year all of the students wrote vignettes. She shared the vignettes from Lindsey McFarlane, Daniela Mendez and Maribel Escalante.
Principal Fluckey presented the class of 2018 for graduation. School board members Royd Hatt, Kenzi Guymon and Superintendent Larry Davis accepted the new graduates.
Freddy Escalante gave the closing remarks. He thanked everyone for coming. We are finally here and we have everyone here to thank for it. Thank you, Green River. This class is resilient. This is a testament to our hard work. Always strive to be the best version of yourself.
After the graduation concluded everyone in attendance had the opportunity to congratulate the graduates. Good luck to the Green River High School class of 2018.