FUTURE: ‘Hard work, dedication’ and ... what else now?

From Page A1 beginning of senior year when bats postponed your homecoming dance. Yea, that happened,” Geigle continued. “Despite the hardships and the moments of separation from your friends, teachers and councilors, you are still here. In the face of adversity, you not only found who you want to become, but supported one another with unwavering determination and resilience. And now, here you stand triumphant having achieved your goals.”

After that, the audience got to hear from a few Blue Devils themselves. First to take the podium was senior class President Nicolas Montano.

“We’re all here because of hard work, dedication and the occasional use of Quizlet and ChatGPT. Joking aside, we should all look back, reflect and be very proud of our accomplishments. After hours of homework, early alarms, sleepless nights and a worldwide pandemic, we finally made it to today… graduation,” said Montano.

“For those of you who don’t know, I love taking polaroid pictures, and have been taking them since the beginning of high school.

“My photos capture friendships, random moments of laughter, a division 1 state soccer championship, the senior prom and everything you can imagine goes on throughout high school. In the end the photos capture a connection. Just like a friendship, a polaroid takes time to develop. It’s something that doesn’t happen instantly, but evolves. That’s what makes them special. The relationships that are built on shared memories over time are the ones that last.”

Next came words from Blue Devil student speaker Niko Doss: “Class of 2023, we made it! Graduating is a feat, no matter where you came from, is an exemplary act of great courage that you’re here.

“Though we’re here as a collective class, this voyage through high school has been different for each of us. Some were nervous not knowing what the years ahead would bring, and some were bold certain of what remaining years will be. Some of us had an effortless and easygoing path, while others battled and struggled through personal and academic struggles,” said Doss. “In spite of what our experiences were, we had supporters advocating for us like our parents and guardians who made sure we stayed on top of our schoolwork with unwavering love.”

Finally, came the words of the last student speaker, Emily Haws. “Some of you know me and some don’t, but the funny thing is although we may not know each other, we’ve been through similar circumstances. We went to the same school and graduated in 2023 which bonds us for life, right? 23 is a prime number, and the lowest prime. Like the number, we are quite unique. We each had our own experiences, struggles, triumphs and feelings throughout high school,” she said.

“Nevertheless, if you examine our full graduate year, 2023, you can see we’re all connected as 2,023 has six factors. But don’t worry if you haven’t thought about multiplication since third grade. Maya Angelou once said, ‘I’ve learned people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but will never forget how you made them feel.’ There’s two things I take away from this quote. The first is that eventually people will forget what you do or say, so go do that thing you were too scared to try. The second message is while we can’t control everything, we can make an impact on those around us.”

After parting words of life advice from keynote speaker, Chris Gardner, the senior song was sung, the diplomas were distributed and the class of 2023 left the stadium in triumph with their tassels on the opposite side of their caps.

Geigle

Robert McGinnis, the first Blue Devil to receive his diploma Friday night at the DHS graduation ceremony. At top right, Nicole Risch receives her diploma. At right, keynote speaker Chris Gardner, author of “The Pursuit of Happyness” addresses the graduating class. The student speakers are Niko Doss, center, and Emily Haws. Mike Bush/enterprise photos