CREEDE – Local musicians Johanna Gray and Debbie Whitmore played Pomp and Circumstance on flutes as the Creede High School Class of 2024 made its way into the gym and to the front of a crowd consisting of family and friends. The six young men held their heads high and took their seats for their graduation ceremony.
Superintendent Keith Crispell addressed the Class of 2024 after the pictorial presentation highlighting each of the senior’s lives growing up.
“Six young men will embark on their next journey. As we watched the presentation, I picked up on songs with similar themes. Themes about broken homes. So, I decided to deliver a message about scars. We all have them, and they remind us of life’s failed attempts to stop us or slow us down. We didn’t let whatever it was stop us at that time so when life attempts to halt your progress, look back at these scars and remember, you were unstoppable. So then be unstoppable now,” Crispell said.
Next, Class of 2024 Valedictorian Will Roden was called to the stage where he shook hands with Crispell and turned to address his classmates.
“I just wanted to start by saying that I am not much for a public speaker. When I was first approached by Mr. Crispell and he told me that I was the Valedictorian for the Class of 2024, I didn’t know what to write about. He said, inspire them. So, I put in my headphones and low and behold the perfect song came on,” Roden said.
Roden spoke about the good times and the challenging times that life will have to offer but that his fellow classmates can and will come out the other side. He also spoke about the view of life after accomplishing something or at the end like now, as a graduating student.
“It’s important to remember that no matter how rough it is now, you will always end up going through something so much better,” he said.
Following Roden, Salutatorian Tiernan King was next to address his classmates.
“When I finished fifth grade my mom was driving home and she asked me, ‘So, how does it feel to officially be in the sixth grade?’ I answered her after a few minutes and I said, ‘I feel exactly the same’,” he said.
King continued to tell stories about how each experience helped shape him into the person he is today and that his classmates, teachers, family and friends played a huge role in bringing him to this moment. King closed his speech stating that each experience is as important as the next.
“After all, what could possibly go wrong,” he said.
Creede’s Class of 2024 class song was “Toes,” by Zac Brown Band, the class motto was “What could possibly go wrong?”, the class flower was the Blazing Star and the class color was Hawaiian Print.
