A New Beginning: Graham, Newcastle Class of 2022 graduates

Graham and Newcastle ISD celebrated the closing journeys of the Class of 2022 with a graduation ceremony Friday. Graham held its ceremony at Newton Field and Newcastle held its ceremony at the NISD auditorium.

Each ceremony honored the students present and the accomplishments they had achieved during their high school careers.

Newcastle graduation

Newcastle’s ceremony began with an invocation by senior Taylor Hager and was followed by a speech from Salutatorian Cash Strawbridge and Valedictorian Mac Cabrera.

“Graduating high school is a great achievement, but it’s just the beginning to a journey that will not soon end. So as much as this feels like the end, it is only the end of an era. An era in our lifetime that has helped us develop who we are today and who we plan to be in the future. We were guided by our family and teachers who pushed us even when we didn’t want to be pushed. We have many to thank for getting us through this first era of our lives,” Cabrera said. “Going into the next era of our lives, we’re going to be on our own, maybe not completely on our own because there’s some pretty cool people watching out for us. But, we will be making the majority of our decisions without the complete guidance of our teachers, parents or guardians. The next step of our journey depends on us and our ability to use the skills we’ve learned up until this moment.”

Graham graduation

Graham’s ceremony started with a welcome from Class President Kodie Gough which led into the student expression by Distinguished Honor Graduate Dawson Grubbs. Principal Joe Gordy introduced the guests and visitors and recognized the academic achievements of the students. A salutatory address and valedictory address were made by Class of 2022 Salutatorian Michel Graham and Valedictorian Rylee McChristian.

“I’m appreciative of all my teachers who have provided me with knowledge and help along the way. I am also especially thankful for my friends and classmates. My friends have always been by my side through everything, and I couldn’t have done it without them. And my classmates and I have always been so competitive, which has helped us to push each other to be our best. Finally, I am so blessed to have parents that are always supportive, that are always proud of me, no matter what,” McChristian said. “This plan I made for myself to become valedictorian all started one day in seventh grade. I was sitting in a learning center for an NJHS leadership training when we were asked to write down our biggest goal. As you can imagine, I sat there for a minute and nothing came to mind. But all of a sudden, the thought of becoming valedictorian pops into my head. And from then on, this is what I wanted. And let me tell you, it has not been a walk in the park to get here. (...) maybe people might assume I’m up here just because I’m smart, or because of some natural born talent. Which I mean, yes, I guess that’s kind of true, minus me having absolutely no common sense. For the record, I did fail my first math test in junior high in case you were wondering. But the real reason why I’m up here is because of how hard I’ve worked. And sure, I’m glad that I got this title, but I’m way more proud of who I’ve become, and how much I’ve grown these past four years, as well as the connections I’ve made along the way.”

For the full story, see the Wednesday, June 1 edition of The Graham Leader.