“There’s so much more to life than school or sitting at a desk doing work. Now is the time to go out and find out what makes us happy,” Calumet New Tech High School co-valedictorian Danyelle Fulton said Sunday during the school’s commencement ceremony. “Being happy in life is the most important thing. I hope everyone here today finds their happiness.”
Family and friends saw 144 students receive diplomas, and school leaders spoke about the past and future.
Co-valedictorian Summer Brown reflected on the memories made and relationships she had with her classmates.
“As I stand here today, I can’t help but realize this is the last time we’ll see many of each other. Even though we weren’t all friends, I’ll miss the familiarity we had with each other,” Brown said. “Now we enter the real world, and the real world is uncharted water. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.”
Salutatorian Abigayle Carda added some humor to the ceremony, recounting the popular slang words that were common in the hallways.
“We are finally done with high school. We have survived four stressful years,” Carda said. “We will walk around saying ‘cray cray,’ ‘YOLO’ and ‘yeet.’ But I truly believe the Class of 2016 is the greatest.”
Having a close rapport with many of the students, teacher Daniel Brugioni was selected as the keynote speaker by the graduates. Brugioni shared memories and gave shout outs to some of the graduates.
“It’s been amazing watching you grow from freshmen to seniors. I want to thank you sincerely for always treating me with respect and kindness, and I sincerely hope you feel I treated you the same way,” Brugioni said. “I want to challenge you to be better. I want you to treat everyone with respect, even those who seem like they don’t deserve it. Watch what it does to you and your life.”