Friday, June 7th, at 7 pm, was a day the class of 24 has been eagerly awaiting for a very long time. Prairie seniors have been counting down the days to their graduation, which was held at District Stadium and was filled to the max with the new graduates’ family, friends, fellow classmates, and teachers.
In preparation for this important event, grad practice occurred earlier in the day to ensure that everything would run smoothly during the actual graduation. Students agreed that it was extremely well-organized from start to finish and they felt prepared to go into it.
One factor that contributed to the overall success of the day was the unexpected picture-perfect weather, resting between 70 and 80 degrees. It made the whole experience much more enjoyable and gave the graduates an extra glow in their pictures.
As soon as everyone had been seated, Susannah Woehr, Prairie High School’s Principal, opened with a welcome speech to all the people who had come to support the graduates. Shortly after, Erin Thompson, the Assistant Principal, recognized students with exemplary academic achievements by having them stand when they were called.
Maddy Moore, one of the students in the top 5% of her class, was asked whether or not she felt she got enough recognition for her accomplishments, and she responded, “I felt honored to stand, and our names being in the program.” This exemplifies how even a little bit of acknowledgment can mean a lot to someone.
The next students to be recognized were the Valedictorians from this year and the salutatorians. The Valedictorians consisted of Lyla Homola, Spencer Hoyt, Pierson Lameh, and Gabriel Vy, and the salutatorian Virgina Su. Each student was given time to share their own speech, as some of the best examples of what a student should be, for their fellow peers.
After this, and for the third year in a row, Britt Pedlar came to the stage to give the commencement speech. Every year since the first time he gave this speech it has been a huge success as he digs deeper and deeper to give us his best words. Pedlar admits that giving this speech in front of so many people is,” terrifying, you know, cause I’m pretty vulnerable with my message I give, and I think it’s important for you guys to hear that teachers are not much different than you guys, maybe in the challenges you might be facing. It’s an honor and it’s hard to describe.” Students absolutely adore Pedlar both as a teacher and as a friend to talk to, making him so valuable to many. Regarding the seniors graduating, Pedlar says, “Every year, you guys come to us and you grow up here and we get to be a part of that and share those exciting moments and those sad moments and all the stuff, and then you go away and we likely never see you again, so it is hard. It’s exciting to see you guys move on to the next chapter, but it’s also bittersweet.”
Finally, after applauding Pedlar’s incredible speech, each student’s name was called and they got their moment to walk across the stage and receive their hard-earned diplomas. Following that, Ava Wojack, the Senior class president, gave her last remarks to her classmates and instructed them to change their tassels.
Maddy Moore tells us, “I think a lot of people felt ready to just be done with high school so they were excited about it. Obviously, there were nerves about the big change coming up in our lives and the unknown, but personally, I felt excited and happy to be graduating alongside the people who support me the most!”
Susannah Woehr came back to the stage and gave the students the countdown they were waiting for, on 3 the seniors all threw their caps into the air, and they were seniors no longer.
