By HOLLY GASKILL
Burn the boats.
In his valedictorian speech, Isaac Gerber referenced the story of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, where he commanded his crews to burn the boats upon landing in Mexico. Though remarkably different scenarios, Gerber quipped, the graduates of Bluffton High School were at a similar precipice in their lives.
Through four years of rigorous study, the students have finally crossed their ocean, Gerber said. And now, they must firmly plant their feet in a whole new world.
“To be clear, we have no intention of burning down the school or sinking anything,” Gerber laughed. “However, we have no reason to return to where we have been or what we have done in this place … Our paths will split from this day forward — and that may be part of the challenge — but unlike Cortes and his crew, we have multiple resources that can continue with us to grow us as a people, as young adults facing new circumstances.”
A total of 109 graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas on Friday night. Of these graduates, 57 graduated with academic or technical honors, seven of which held both. They represent the 141st class to graduate from BHS.
The commencement ceremony itself was filled with both tears and laughter as the class celebrated their accomplishments and prepared to part ways.
Principal Steve Baker captured these dichotomous feelings in his address to the outgoing students, emphasizing the power and weight of the decisions. Baker recognized that the graduates may now be facing daunting questions like, “What am I going to do now?” and “Where am I supposed to go from here?” However, those questions and decisions mark just a few of many they will make in this new season of life.
“Did you know that an adult makes, on average, 35,000 decisions a day?” Baker asked. “No wonder making decisions can make us anxious and stressed out.”
Baker then advised that these decisions can be empowering — every choice contains the power to do something good in the world. As a reminder, each student was given a key chain bearing the words, “Make it a great life or not. The choice is truly yours.”
In making these decisions, class salutatorian Kenlie Thomas walked through 10 pieces of advice, reminding the graduates to confidently make their own path, and to do so with openness, kindness and gratitude.
“Whatever you accomplish in life, just know that your choices matter, and you possess and deserve the power to create the future you dream of now,” Thomas said.
Moments after the graduates turned their tassels, signifying the completion of one phase and the start of another, Baker looked out unto the graduates and quoted an Irish proverb: “May you have the hindsight to know where you have been, the foresight to know where you are going, may you have a host of friends that never ends, and may God protect you always.”
The 2023 class motto, from singer Pitbull, was, “This is for everybody going through tough times, believe me, been there, done that, but every day above ground is a great day, remember that.” The class song was “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, and the class flower was a carnation.
holly@news-banner.com
