‘Take action in your own lives’

Creston said goodbye to 122 students as the class of 2025 walked across the stage Sunday afternoon. Though the smallest graduating class Creston has had in years, this group of students left no smaller impact than previous grades.

Of the 13 valedictorians, five spoke at the commencement ceremony, sharing advice and memories with their classmates for the coming years.

“During high school, I have felt lost at times in the process; however, I’ve learned that life is what I make of it. My life is a journey, not a destination,” Zoey Vandevender said. “I remember my first day, filled with all sorts of emotions, but just ready to go and do something. I was so excited to experience all the different classes and opportunities. That’s exactly what I did. I made every bleeding second of my life dedicated to sports or school-related things. It felt great doing everything; I was so involved! The only problem was I got so lost in trying to do everything, I never found time to specialize things for myself.”

Vandevender explained it wasn’t until her sophomore year that she began doing the things she wanted to do rather than what she felt she was supposed to do. In doing this, she found her true self.

“Prioritizing my well-being and focusing on what I love brought clarity and a sense of purpose: to learn and share the world’s goodness,” Vandevender said. “A wave of relief and self-respect rushed over me once I came to the conclusion that I didn’t fail at multitasking, and I didn’t give up, those tasks just weren’t all for me. I was fixing myself and getting educated.”

Ava Adamson focused on a similar topic, sharing how she kept true to herself throughout high school no matter how “uncool” something might have seemed.

“Throughout my high school career, I have continued to do things despite the opinions of others. I joined the uncool clubs, put effort into my assignments when classmates found them redundant, showed my love for learning and participated in athletics despite my fear of failure,” Adamson said. “So many of us went throughout high school and will continue to go through life worrying about the opinions of others. These opinions are so loud at our age because we’re just trying to fit in, find a group of friends, but these opinions are what keep us from finding who we truly are.”

Adamson encouraged her class to ignore the opinions of others as they took the next step on their journey.

“As we go into this scary, exciting and overwhelming new part of our lives, I challenge you, class of 2025, to take action in your own lives,” Adamson said. “Join the uncool club, rush a fraternity or sorority, take that internship, apply for that job, text the friend you’ve wanted to text, go to trade school, move to a new place and most importantly, do it because you want to do.”

Gabe Hopkins quoted “The Breakfast Club,” encouraging students to shake off their labels and to embrace the opportunity change brings.

“We all still have the opportunity; it’s now time for us to create our own path for our future. What lasts are the choices we make, the people we lift up and the integrity we carry,” Hopkins said. “The world doesn’t remember who had the most likes or comments in high school. It remembers the ones who made a difference to others.”

Hopkins gave a special thanks to teachers Heidi Lumbard, Brooke McGehee and Elisa Soosloff for their encouragement and kindness.

Sasha Wurster also called out specific people in her life for their help in her high school career.

“I thank my dad for my sheer lack of flexibility and guiding me to become the independent young woman I am today,” Wurster said. “Thank you to my mom for constantly telling me to own my choices, know my worth and never be afraid to chase my dreams.”

She gave three tips to her classmates as they continue to life outside of high school.

“Here are some words of wisdom that have had a positive impact on my life,” Wurster said. “It is important to set aside your social media and learn to be alone. Never be afraid to learn from failure. No matter how hard you try, you can never reason with crazy.”

Finally, Khouri Sherrod reminisced on the blissful ignorance she and her classmates had throughout their years in school.

“Before I had even entered high school, I was warned of the fast pace of these four years. I admit I had been blissfully ignorant of how quickly they would end and, to some extent, wanted to remain that way,” Sherrod said. “Freshman year went by in a blur. When sophomore year came, it was time to navigate my interests and myself. When junior year came, it wasn’t just a year of fun, it was the year to focus on preparation for my final year: everything about college, the dreadful ACT and saving money.”

However, it was this final year that her blissful ignorance began to fade.

“By now, my euphoric disposition had begun to come to a close. At senior sunrise, we had sat and talked about wanting to make the year go by quickly. As each senior event passed, I grew to recognize my bliss was coming to an end,” Sherrod said. “As I stand up here, both ignorance and its bliss have vacated. From my entrance into high school, I had been hoping for this moment, and as I stand up here, I hope to fall back into the euphoria of naivety for a short while longer, to live my summer with my last moments of youthful ignorance. And even if that doesn’t come to fruition, at least I’ll have the memories from past years to keep me company.”

While each student in the class of 2025 had different experiences throughout their time at Creston High School, each path brought them to the stage before them. While they took 122 different paths, each path ended with a Panther.