Photos by Lyndsie Ferrell The Creede High School Class of 2022 stepped into the next phase of their life over the weekend and while celebrating among family and friends.

CREEDE — The Creede High School Class of 2022 gathered with friends and family Saturday, May 28, to begin the next stage of their life. A large projection screen set up on the north wall of the gymnasium showed the life-long journey of each senior, starting with pictures of growing up and finally their last year as a Creede High School graduate. 

Creede School District Superintendent Keith Crispell delivered his opening remarks to the students after the slide show was complete.

“Today is a celebration of our graduates. They have been taught, they have studied, and they have learned so now it is time to send them out into the world. So, I think it is fitting to talk about baseball. Yeah, I know this isn’t a sports thing but indulge me for a minute,” Crispell said.

Crispell said that life was apt to throw several curve balls before sending one that would allow you to hit it out of the park. He encouraged the Class of 2022 to never miss a swing and to never give up.

“Take what you’ve learned from this school, apply and commit yourself and practice to achieve your goals. Class of 2022, swing for the fences,” Crispell said.

Salutatorian Carter Simon was the next to address his fellow seniors and said, “Seniors, this is a turning point in our lives. There are going to many difficult decisions ahead, more responsibility and sometimes less accountability but let’s not loose sight of the most important thing. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your life. Opportunity is often missed by those people because it is dressed in wranglers and looks like work. It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it wrong and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. Thank you all and to all those who helped me along the way. Seniors, make a difference in your lives, I love you all.”

Seniors Trenea Carpenter and Klaranay Mankowski took the stage and spent the next few minutes reminiscing about their fellow classmates and what stood out for them throughout the years. They spoke about the first day of school for most of the seniors and how they impacted their lives in one way or another.

Mankowski ended by stating that she hoped the Class of 2022 would stay friends for a lifetime. 

Valedictorian John Twite spoke next about the opportunity Creede School District gave him during his school career and about how important it was to thank all of the people who helped his class get to graduation.

“To my fellow seniors, I want you to think about what a great gift it is to be as prepared as we are,” Twite said.

The afternoon finished with a reading of scholarships by Creede High School Principal John Goss and the presentation of diplomas.