Salutatorian Address

Welcome family, friends, and faculty to the graduation of the FPD Class of 2022. My name is Lauren Casey, and I have been given the great honor to welcome you to this commencement ceremony and stand before you as my class’s salutatorian. We would like to thank each and every one of you for attending today and for the profound impact you have had on the development of the students that will be graduating today.

As we gather today to celebrate our graduation from FPD, I am reminded of how much we’ve been through together. Many of us have attended this school since kindergarten—experiencing the joys of learning and growing together as a grade, not only enjoying our long-standing friendships, but also the friends we’ve made as new students have joined our class throughout the years.

If I was asked to describe our class in one word, it would be memorable. I’m sure the teachers and faculty in the room can attest to the fact that the Class of 2022 has been a very challenging, but also an entertaining group. Looking back on all we’ve seen and done, I can’t help but laugh at some of my favorite memories—all those times on the playground playing house; dodging flying tennis balls from an intense game of wall ball; when we may, or may not, have gotten FPD banned from the Atlanta Zoo in 7th grade; or during Spirit Week when we decided a smoke machine would be the PERFECT decoration for our Rock’N’Roll themed hallway, only to end up evacuating the high school building because of fire alarms about 5 minutes later.

We’ve had many wonderful memories and brilliant ideas like this over the years, and I’m sure if you asked any member of this class, they could enlighten you with dozens more.

However, even after facing various challenges, successes, and hardships, we’ve all made it here today. It is no small feat to graduate high school, and we owe many thanks to the people who have helped us along.

Our teachers have consistently believed in us and pushed us to succeed in the classroom, but also to grow in our faith. Our parents have been by our sides taking us to numerous practices, attending concerts, and sitting at the kitchen table late at night trying to face the fact that we were no longer using the “Granny Method” in math class.

Friends have crammed for tests, laughed in the hallways, and celebrated victories after months of practice. Families have encouraged us and demonstrated God’s love to us no matter if we were facing our highest high or our lowest low. Coaches have pushed us to be the best version of ourselves, overcoming any challenges that stand in our way. Every faculty member at FPD has made an effort over the course of our educational careers to say hello, get to know us, and make us better versions of ourselves than when we started.

One thing you’ll hear around the FPD campus is to “leave it better than you found it.” My hope for the Class of 2022 is that when we stepped off campus for the last time, we left it better than when we arrived on our first day. I know every member of this class will cling tight to all we have learned over the course of our time at FPD and will be “equipped to change the world for God’s glory.”

I am extremely proud of every person graduating today, and I can’t wait to hear stories of the amazing things you all will accomplish. Congratulations to my classmates and friends. We finally did it.

It has been an honor and a pleasure to spend the last 13 years of my life with all of you. I will miss you very much, and I wish you the very best wherever the Lord may take you.

“One thing you’ll hear around the FPD campus is to “leave it better than you found it.” My hope for the Class of 2022 is that when we stepped off campus for the last time, we left it better than when we arrived on our first day.“