Class of 2023 Valedictorian

Dedicated staff, Administrators, faculty, and my fellow class of 2023 graduates, congratulations!

We have all made it through yet another year of education, teaching, and learning.

Staff and faculty, on behalf of your students, we thank you for your effort in shaping our education and future selves.

Without your dedication and hard work, it is unlikely that many of us would be here today.

Thank you for everything you did for each of us, as well as those to come.

Fellow graduates, I am sure that it was no easy feat to get to this moment of graduation.

Though that is true, each one of us has done it, and now we can stand proud that we have pushed through hardship and struggle to pass the sometimes-hazardous flow of education. Congratulations on reaching the next stepping stone. Before us there is more water, a river that flows mighty strong, the river of life.

The rapids froth with turbulence.

It is a scary sight, but through our dedication and resolve, we have strengthened our legs to hold, as well as our minds to keep us bold. We are stronger now, stronger than the current, though sometimes we will slip and fall. We will get carried by the waters, but we will find our footing. We’ve made similar journeys before, and we will make them again, until we find calm. We go from our lives as high schoolers to our lives as adults.

Some of us may choose to take different routes along the river, but no matter what, we share the same stream. Though we leave a place designed to teach our thoughts, the world still has many teachings to give. As we continue to learn, we shall overcome. Our minds will be strengthened through our efforts.

At times we will have to overcome the flows of the river, sometimes they will hit hard, others will hit soft, we may be pelted with debris, but our resolve will embolden us. We will grow our constitution and stand firm.

The time has come, my friends. Our minds are within our hands, we choose whether we let them falter or evolve. This natural world is a tool of growth. Now we must go. Go out into the world as individuals, do what makes you happy, make your guardians proud, make yourself proud. Continue to learn, continue to push, as there is only one thing we can rely on, ourselves.

Let us promise those around us, our fellow classmates, our teachers, and of course our parents. Let us promise that we will grow and learn with our world, and we will push through the hardships of life. We are here to make a difference, so be that difference, but do not forget those who have made a difference in you.

I wish you all the most adamantine strength.

Push and fight while we can, be the difference.

Thank you.

Kenton James Bustin- Class Valedictorian