Mount Vernon High School graduated 92 students Sunday, May 22.
Mount Vernon superintendent Greg Batenhorst gave his remarks to remind students that setbacks can happen in anyone’s life.
“It’s okay when they do,” Batenhorst said. “Our jobs as teachers, your friends and members of this community is to help prepare you for what comes next after those setbacks.”
Batenhorst also reminded students that the doors of Mount Vernon Schools will always be willing to welcome them back.
Students Piper Price and Anna Hoffman were two of the selected speakers for the class of 2022, delivering a speech together at the podium.
“Everyone in this room has come from a different path, and each one of us will leave here today to start on a new journey,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman recounted some of the dreams other students had in kindergarten compared to their dreams and hopes now.
“None of our experiences have been exactly the same, but they have helped us grow in our own way,” Price said. Most of our class won’t become what their kindergarten selves dreamt of, but that’s the thing about growth, it’s not linear or steady. I think it’s fair to say that none of us in this room have everything completely figured out, but we hope everyone can embrace the uncertainty of the future and view it as an opportunity to learn from new experiences and grow on your own path of life.”
“Our lives are full of successes and failures, triumphs and downfalls, dumb luck and dumb mistakes,” Hoffman said. “But we can always strive to be our best by taking advantage of opportunities and learning from others along the way.”
Benjamin Gilbert-Binder was the other student speaker for the class of 2022.
“I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate us all on being here today,” Gilbert-Binder said. “Graduating high school is a major achievement. All the hard work we’ve put in, the blood, sweat and tears that go into getting a diploma, it’s finally paid off.”
Gilbert-Binder said that even though high school could be rough, students have found opportunities to celebrate the little victories along the way.
Gilbert-Binder recounted the number of times he got the wrong answer in finding a integrals or derivatives, but his memories were more on how his teacher would share a video of her kid and her dog, or the camaraderie he found with fellow classmates when they were equally confused.
“To me, the moral to take away from this, and all of high school, really, is that no matter how bad something seems, there’s always a silver lining to be found,” Gilbert-Binder said. “When you’re upset about the test you just got back, don’t focus on the grade you received, but instead how your friend said they’d help you study for the next one.”
“Finding the positive, it seems like such a small thing, but it really does make a tremendous difference,” Gilbert-Binder said. “There are going to be times in life where it seems like you aren’t going to make it. The whole weight of the world is on your shoulders, and you cust can’t seem to have something go your way. In this moment, instead of crumbling under the weight, look over and smile at your friend who’s struggling just as much as you are.”
That look for positive outlook and energy was also a theme in Preston Pedersen’s speech to the class of 2022.
“You all have the power to choose how you see the world,” Pedersen said. “How you see the world impacts so many things as well.”
Pedersen gave an analogy about inside each person are two wolves, one consisting of your negative emotions, and one consisting of your positive emotions. The impact people see I the world depends on which of the wolf they feed.
He also commended the students for the challenges they already accomplished, from dealing with a pandemic to wrestling with every other day schooling during the pandemic in 2020-21 school year.
“In the world there’s already so much negativity, having the ability to change your perspective is going to make a world of difference,” Pedersen said. “I’m excited for all of you and what you’re going to accomplish.”
Lauren Swartzendruber gets ready for the graduate parade after commencement exercises Sunday, May 22.