Reardan honors Class of 2023

REARDAN - After starting their high school career under the cloud and uncertainty of Covid, the graduating Class of 2023 enjoyed a sense of normalcy their senior year which culminated with a 45-minute commencement ceremony attended by hundreds Saturday, June 10 in the school gymnasium.

As guests slowly filed into the gym, they were handed a program with each of the graduates' pictures and an insert that listed their plans and any scholarships they received. They found their seats on one of the 280 folding chairs reserved for them as family members, or in the maroon and gray bleachers on either side of the basketball court. By 11 a.m. the gym was nearly full, and the crowd faced a stage where 43 maroon diplomas were stacked on a table.

Seated in the front row facing the stage were superintendent Eric Sobotta, principal JoLynn Ray and school board members Ryan Clouse, Tessa Wicks, Simon Butterfield and Jenny Cox.

As the band played Pomp and Circumstance, Junior Honor Guard members Ashley Landt, Aidan Chilson, Kassidy Koch and Tate Nelson led the graduates, some smiling and others looking nervous, to their seats facing the crowd on both sides of the stage.

The 43 graduates were clad in maroon robes, personalized mortarboard caps and gray sashes. Some wore gold honor cords and medallions around their necks.

Valedictorian and class president Tyler Clouse welcomed everyone to the ceremony and called classmate Robert Colvin to the stage to lead the assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Afterwards, Clouse and Andrew Schulz, one of the classes' salutatorians (Talia Krumkop being the other), stood at the podium to give a joint address.

"Our class has been through so much together," Clouse said. "Starting our freshman year, COVID threw us a curveball. We've had so many challenges to get where we are today."

Looking up from his notes, Clouse shook his head and said, "Oh my gosh, who wrote this? No one wants to listen to another speech about COVID."

Schulz agreed.

"I have been blessed with the opportunity to grow up in such an amazing town," Schulz said. "Reardan is one of the most welcoming towns you will ever encounter."

Clouse thanked his teachers, coaches and classmates for making his time in high school enjoyable.

"In Reardan, the students are known, loved and learning. I would not have wanted to go to school anywhere else," he said.

Faculty elected speaker and ASB president Emma Flaa then took the stage.

"I would like to thank the Lord for giving me the opportunities I have had over the past four years," she said.

Flaa said she attended four schools prior to attending Reardan.

"It is hard to realize how truly special something is until you've lost it or lived without it," Flaa said. "For the first eight years of my schooling, I lived without something I never knew I needed. When my family moved to Reardan, I found it."

She thanked the community for the time, money and effort they had invested in her class. She offered advice to the school's underclassmen.

"Cherish every bus ride, every practice, every assembly and even every Sweet 16," she said. "Don't take anything for granted."

The gym lights were dimmed and a slideshow featuring pictures of the graduates' childhood was shown to songs titled End of Innocence, Friendship, Lean on Me and Legends are Made.

Finally, Sobotta called the school board forward to hand out the diplomas.

"Sometimes we think graduation is like a linear path from preschool to the 12th grade," he said. "It's not like that. There are ups and downs. I wish I could say these students passed all of their classes and made all the right choices, but that's not how it works. That's part of being human. We are all developing as humans."

Sobotta thanked the graduates' parents, grandparents and staff for helping them navigate the hardships of youth because one day "their gifts and talents will bless the world."

Ray declared each student had met the state's requirements for graduation and, one by one, they crossed the stage to receive their diploma from Sobotta. Between Jaylee Abrahamson and Hunter Wynecoop, 41 names were announced to applause, hoots and hollers, including exchange students Amandine Deulin from Belgium and Tran Ho from Vietnam. As they returned to their seat, Koch and Landt handed each one a white rose.

After tossing their hats into the air, the class of 2023 exchanged hugs and hurried to family and friends, eager to share with them their accomplishment.