Excited for the future

ROYAL CITY — The Royal High School graduating class of 2022 took their final steps as seniors Friday night at the Royal High School football field.

Assistant principal Randy Miller started the program by recognizing parents in the audience who had graduated from Royal High School, then recognizing students who were the first in their family to graduate and those first in their family to go on to post-secondary education. He also recognized two graduating seniors entering military service.

“We pray for each individual in the Royal High School Class of 2022,that they may accomplish all they're capable of. Give us the courage to face oncoming challenges of life with grace and compassion. May you guide us as it unfolds the next chapter of our lives and may we look back on the last 13 years with an appreciation for the time spent together.” senior Kate Allred said in her opening prayer.

After the prayer by Allred, Miller recognized the students and their families with the highest honors. Students recognized for Highest Honors earned a cumulative 3.75 grade point average or above. The students and their families, lined up, spanned the width of the football field.

Then, senior Brynn Christensen took the podium.

She spoke about the challenges she and many of her classmates faced over the years. She noted that regardless of what those may be, it was worth celebrating what it took for them to receive their diploma.

“But for me, one of the biggest things my time in school has taught me is perseverance,” said Christensen.

She went on to explain that like many of her classmates, she spent numerous hours trying to plan for the future.

“Planning out the future is great and very important, but we all need to understand that things do not always go according to plan,” said Christensen. “Throughout our four years, many things did not go according to plan. We had to endure the challenges of social distancing and adjusting to online learning. Many activities that were important to us were canceled and many families may have struggled financially and emotionally. As much as I believe each and every one of you will find success in the future, however that may look for you, I do not believe that … will come without frustrations and hardships. There will be times when we don't make the team, we don't get into a dream school, a relationship falls apart or we don't get a certain job - and those moments when nothing seems to be going right. It is important to remember to incorporate flexibility into our plans and I know that the challenges we have faced in the past years have prepared us for the hard things we will face in the future.”

After Christensen’s speech, Cody Miller took the podium. Miller was the student-selected speaker.

Miller also spoke about perseverance and things not going according to plan with a short story about a football player who had numerous obstacles in his life and how he was able to overcome them by not giving up. He encouraged the class to dream big and said he could not wait to see all that the class accomplishes in the future.

The program next presented each student with their diploma and the turning of their tassels.

The commencement closed with one final student speaker, Nicholas Santillan, Jr.

He thanked all the teachers his class had along their high school journey. He said the class went from nervous freshmen to online-learning sophomores and excited juniors, then to confident seniors.

“One thing I learned from high school is, I learned that we are all more alike than different,” said Santillan. “We all went through the same experience and we learned how to come together. And we also learned our similarities far outweigh our differences.”

He made a point to thank the people he connected with in high school wheter they were close friends or acquaintances.

“One more thing I'd like to say is, quote ‘Wherever we go, and whatever we do, don't forget about the small loving town we call home - Royal City,’” said Santillan.

The class recessional featured the song ‘Good Old Days’ by Macklemore Ft. Kesha. Before the class left the field to reunite with their family, they gathered in a circle and threw their caps up in the air in celebration.

At the end of her speech, Christensen said, “My last hope for you all is that you look towards the future with excitement.”

Rebecca Pettingill can be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.