Commencement exercises were held for the classes of 2024 at both Mount Vernon and Lisbon Schools Sunday, May 19.
Lisbon’s commencement exercises for 50 students were at 1 p.m. in the Lion’s Den.
The class motto was from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” – “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
The high school concert band performed “Amazing Grace” as well as the processional to kick off graduation.
Cole Butteris delivered the valedictorian’s speech, recounting the successes that Lisbon students have had on the field, as well as their achievements and memories from the class.
J’Nee Reade was the faculty speaker for the class, recounting favorite memories of many of the members of the class and the ways they have interacted with her over the years at Lisbon Schools.
The high school choir performed “Home” by Jay Althouse.
Twenty-four students at Lisbon had gold cord honors (or a grade point average of 3.5 or better).
Mount Vernon
At Mount Vernon, superintendent Greg Batenhorst’s speech reminded students that they will hear the word “no” a lot in their lives. He talked about the number of schools who had told him “no” as superintendent.
“It’s all in how you handle that defeat and rejection that is important to remember,” Batenhorst said.
He also recounted the number of girls who had told him no until he met his wife, Mary Lou.
“You can’t let the rejections define you,” Batenhorst said.
He also recounted the number of students who have passed from his graduating class, remembering one student who passed away shortly after graduation, and his remorse for how he and others in his class had treated that student in his class growing up.
“If there’s a piece of advice I’d give all of you, if you can choose to be anything in life, always choose to be kind,” Batenhorst said.
He encouraged students to stay connected to their friends, their families, their school and their communities after graduation and reminded students that Mount Vernon will always be home.
Batenhorst concluded the speech donning a maroon graduation robe to remind students that he will always, like them, be a Mustang, and thanked the community again for the greatest job he has had in his career.
Student speakers Audrey Tucker and Luke Stephens also addressed the class.
Tucker recounted how glad she has been to call Mount Vernon her home and the lessons the class learned along the way from different teachers.
“The reality is we are living our high school experience,” Tucker said. “And mine may be very different from yours, but that doesn’t take away from having your perfect coming of age story. We are growing from our childhood elementary to our semi-adulthood and of course our adulthood now. We have always been finding who we are, and we will discover who we will become… We were given the tools, and now we must build.”
Stephens reminded the class they are not special, that there are likely 8,000 other people in the world just like every member of the class.
And he reminded students that the world they were entering was going through a number of different crises.
“But as we enter a world where division is more apparent than connection, we have a choice,” Stephens said. “We can choose to make our world a better place. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we can change the whole world, because we aren’t special. However, we can make our world, the community and people around us, a better place.
“The world needs us, and we don’t need to be special. All we need to do is make the choice to be remarkable. Remarkable in our empathy, in our love and in the relationships we create. That is how we can make a difference.”
Faculty speaker for the class was Kelsey Strope, who reminded students life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.
She compared the COVID experience to one of those unexpected chocolates, definitely not pleasant, but something the class learned new skills from.
She noted her own path was full of discovering a chocolate she had thought would be her favorite was one she couldn’t stand in college, when she had to pivot from being a chemistry teacher to finding a different career path.
“Don’t be afraid to question if you’re on the correct path,” Strope said. “The chocolates you try might just be the ones that grow the most on you.”
She encouraged the class to continue enjoying their favorite chocolates and experiences, but to never be afraid to try something new or different, or interact with people who may have had different lived experiences than their own as they move forward, to embrace things they maybe haven’t tried before because in that they may find things they will also love.
More than 60 percent of the class had GPAs of 3.5 or above denoted by maroon and white cords, gold cords or medals for the height of their GPA.
During commencement, principal Steve Brand honored the Novak children Klayten and Kolton who had passed away in an ATV accident years prior, but would have been members of the class of 2024.
The ceremony ended with Atticus Rood reading an original poem called “The Future’s Bright, It’s Up to You.”
Aiden Jensen plays with the band during graduation for one of the last times Sunday, May 19.