Crowd to the rafters for NHS graduation

Even though Mother Nature may have put a damper on an outside commencement service for the Neosho High School Class of 2010, she couldn’t sour the mood inside the NHS gym as this year’s senior class received their diplomas in front of more than 2,500 family and friends Friday night.

With the gymnasium packed to the rafters and an overflow crowd watching on a big screen in the cafeteria, the NHS Class of 2010 moved their tassles, received their diploma cases and tossed their caps in the air and released a flurry of Silly String to mark the end of their secondary education careers.

During the commencement ceremony, the Class of 2010’s top 20 students were recognized. They are (in alphabetical order) David Born, Stephanie Bynum, Evan Clark, Joe Cumming, Shelby Cummins, Jacob Friend, Matt Garrity, Lauren Gordon, Seth Hart, Anthony Hendrix, Destine Knoblauch, Bruce “Bo” Mahr, Alexsandra McMahan, Tyler Mitchell, Gretel Schmidt, Molly Shumaker, Elle Swift, Emily Swyden, Courtney Wilson and Victoria Wood.

Those students also graduated Summa Cum Laude.

While addressing the graduates and students, Dr. Richard Page, superintendent of Neosho R-5 School District, announced that the NHS Class of 2010 had earned approximately $1.2 million in scholarships for their college education as a class. Also, he announced that this year’s class had higher test scores than previous years’ graduating classes, and that 25 students attended and graduated from the new Neosho Honors Academy program.

During his speech, NHS Salutatorian Evan Clark took his classmates on a trip down memory lane. He spoke about the “good ol’ days” of elementary school when they enjoyed recess and celebrating every holiday on the calendar with a party. He then talked about the “dark years” of middle school when many of them spent too much time in the office and not enough time in the classroom. Junior high school, Clark said, was the year when they began to expand their horizons with classes such as algebra, when essays began to really be essays, and “scary science classes.”

But, Clark said, it wasn’t until he and his classmates reached high school that the most prolific changes in their lives took place. High school was the time, Clark said, where he and his classmates began to carve out who they were.

“But that’s all the past now,” Clark said. “Now, we must prepare for the future. Our future holds many opportunities. Our future is a mystery. Fear is the biggest obstacle between our future and us. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift.”

Jacob Friend, NHS valedictorian, told his classmates during his speech that 20 years from now they will be more disappointed by the things they didn’t do, than by the things they did accomplish.

“Whenever you come to a crossroad in your life, always take a chance,” Friend said. “No one should be too cautious as to never try anything new. In 20 years, none of you will remember this speech. I will not even remember what I talked about, but I hope each and every one of you looks back at your life and say I am glad I did this, or that. Though some things you may try may not last long, remember that nothing can end unless it begins. I just want you to remember this one thing, never end a part of your life before it truly begins.”