Graduation ceremony held to celebrate Class of 2023
308 graduates were honored Saturday, May 20 on the football field.
May 22, 2023
Science teacher Chad Brown had a very scientific message for the class of 2023: they will forever be bound together due to the concept of quantum entanglement. The 308 graduates listened to Brown Saturday, May 20 at the first outdoor ceremony for the first time since 2020.
Using references to ChatGPT and quantum mechanics, Brown used his science expertise to encourage seniors to reflect back on their time at the school.
“When two particles, such as a pair of photons or electrons, become entangled, they remain connected even when separated by vast distances,” Brown said. “This entanglement means that your lives will be forever tied to this school and this group of people around you. You will move on and you will become entangled with many other particles, but these entanglements will never break.”
The ceremony also included speeches from principal Dr. Gail Holder, senior student body president Brianna Coup, senior valedictorian Dalton Gabbert and senior class president Gabby Delpleash.
Senior Josie Foltz said the speeches helped her gain perspective about her graduation and future plans.
“I thought that all the graduation speeches had nice sentiments,” Foltz said. “ I also think that they passed on useful wisdom that my classmates and I could use in the future.”
Early in the ceremony, Holder encouraged the crowd to hold a moment of silence for late Cooper Davis, who was a member of class of 2023 before his death in August 2021. Senior Grace Brookshire had mixed feelings about the moment of silence.
“I feel like we could have done something more to honor him and his family,” Brookshire said. “But, during the moment of silence all I was thinking about was honoring him.”
The ceremony also included performances from Jag Singers, Jag Chorale and symphonic band. Seniors in those groups performed in their caps and gowns in their last performance. Senior Bryce Jennings said performing at graduation held so much meaning to him.
“I enjoy choir a lot, so it meant a lot to me to sing with the choir one last time at graduation,” Jennings said. “I really like the tradition of Jag Chorale singing at graduation. The graduates joining in makes it a truly special, almost as if it is like our final send off.”
Brown enjoyed the fact that graduation could be held outside because of the nice weather.
“I prefer graduation outside instead of inside,” Brown said. “There were so many people who were able to come to graduation. I enjoyed the air horns and yelling from the families after their seniors’ names were called.”
Overall, Jennings reflected on the graduation ceremony as a whole.
“I really enjoyed graduation as a whole this year,” Jennings said. “It was truly a special ceremony that recognized the hard work of all the seniors.”
