Before the start of the ceremony, Principal Shane Killinger spoke to the senior class in the school’s auditorium one last time.
He reminded the students that seeing them graduate was important to their families, too.
He told them that it’s important to write thank-you cards to those who give them gifts and attend their parties.
“Make sure that the next few days, you say thank you to people that mean something to you, that you appreciate. If it’s someone you love, make sure you tell them that, because if you’re like me, I don’t tell people enough,” he said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]“I am going to tell you thank you for graduating. I love you all.”
Students yelled, “We love you” back at the man who had been their principal for at least the last four years. Killinger will transfer to Sprunica Elementary School as principal next school year.
Then, the students were off in pairs, awaiting their grand entrance to the Larry C. Banks Memorial Gymnasium for the last time as Eagles.
Instead of bringing in an outside speaker this year, the school decided they would have a graduating student be the main speaker. Jessica Taylor was picked.
“It seems just like yesterday we were navigating the halls, fighting with the combination on our lockers, and of course, always looking up to the upperclassmen. But now we’re the ones being looked up to,” she said.
“Today, we sit here ready to graduate, but we did not get here all by ourselves. We can’t forget everything and everyone that got us here today.”
She thanked her own grandparents, and talked about thanking the parents and other family members seated in the audience.
“You were by our side, watching us walk our first steps years ago, and now you are here watching us walk the first steps of a new journey all on our own,” she said.
“The things you’ve done for us are truly incredible, and we are so grateful, even if we don’t say it enough.”
She said she hopes her classmates strive for excellence in “everything you do big and small.”
“Don’t forget that feeling you got when you were stepping on stage for the first and the last time. Don’t forget the memories made here. … Or the love and support you receive from everyone around you. Carry it with you wherever you go,” she said.
“Whatever you do, wherever you go, may we also be friends.”
Salutatorian Solei Garland reminded her classmates of the many historical events that have happened in this phase of their life, from the #MeToo movement, to the fight for net neutrality, to the softening of relations between North and South Korea.
“(These), among other events, are all great examples of how people have come together and taken a stand for what they believe in,” she said.
“Now that we’re officially done with high school, I think that we’re all ready to take our exit as soon as possible. I will, however, leave you with my hope that everyone continues their lives away from Brown County High School with compassion and an eye for the future.”
Valedictorian Abraham “Abe” Oliver reminded his classmates that their paths are still unknown, no matter how many stories and pieces of advice they receive from friends and family.
“Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computers, once said, ‘As you start this journey, the first thing you should do is throw away your store-bought map and begin to draw your own.’’’ He said making that path can be difficult, but that is exactly what Brown County Schools and the Brown County community had prepared them to do.
“BCHS students are no strangers to real life, hard work. There are no outsiders to trying new things, setting new trends. They are no cowards to walk down difficult roads,” he said.
“The class of 2018 wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines. We were a force to be reckoned with.”
These students attended many regional, state, national and international competitions, he said. They created clubs and organizations that “will long outlive us after we graduate.”
“You create your own destiny, just like we did here,” he said. “Be a leader. Set trends. Make a difference. It’s easy to think that we have finished this race, but we are far from it,” he said.
“As Winston Churchill said, ‘Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It is perhaps the end of the beginning.’ Go on from this beginning and make our community proud. It has been an honor to know you for the past four years and I cannot wait to see what map you draw and what trails you blaze in the future.”
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Valedictorian: Abraham “Abe” Oliver
Salutatorian: Solei Garland
Senior speaker: Jessica Taylor
Master of ceremonies: Grace Jackson
Class motto: “Remember yesterday. Dream for tomorrow. Live for today.”
156 graduates
14 midterm graduates
2 early graduates after junior year
19 general education diplomas
78 Core 40 diplomas
8 technical honors diplomas
49 academic honors diplomas
6 technical and academic honors diplomas
2 certificates of completion
13 summa cum laude honors
10 magna cum laude honors
3 cum laude honors
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