WILLISTON OBSERVER RACK LOCATIONS

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“the big kid school.”

“We had to deal with Covid, online school and just middle school in general,” she said. “I feel like Covid has shaped me as a person and taught me how to deal with change.”

Hem noted the special occasion for everyone there, whether they were there to support one of the students “or just to confirm you’re finally leaving.” She was happy to see how much her classmates had grown, even those she didn’t know personally.

She said she has grown a lot at WCS, especially in confidence. Hem shared that during her first day of seventh grade, she was scared to enter her classroom for the first time. And yet, there she was, standing in front of her graduating class, their friends, family, and teachers, giving a speech.

One of the last things she touched on was a message for her fellow students: “Those of you who have struggled in any way, now,” she said, “I want you to know how just incredibly proud I am of you. How everyone is just so proud of you, and you are not alone.”

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Introducing the keynote speaker was Kaitlyn Boget, Zoe Zeller and Ella Polli, who also sang the national anthem. They shared that they chose Chris Smith, an AP economics and world history teacher at CVU who is retiring this year.

The day just happened to be the 50th anniversary of Smith’s high school graduation and the final day of his 15-year career at CVU. After informing the audience of the day’s personal significance — his “second graduation” — he turned back to his fellow teachers and the principal, Adam Bunting, saying, “I hope there’s a diploma or something …”

He then refocused on the audience and described how, when he graduated, there was no question he hated more than “what do you want to do when you grow up?”

“Even today,” Smith said, “I don’t have a good answer. I don’t know.” He shared that while he couldn’t answer that particular question, he hoped to give the graduates some advice and share what he had learned in his time between graduations.

“In order to achieve happiness,” he said, “I think you have to place two items in your life: passion and purpose.”

He wrapped up his speech by challenging the Class of 2023: “I challenge you to find passion with whatever you do and pursue that with vigor. Find purpose and allow that to drive your day-to-day actions.”