Custer graduates 63

By: 
Ron Burtz

The mood was jubilant inside the Armory Saturday for the graduation ceremonies of the Custer High School Class of 2021. After last year’s delayed and relocated June commencement exercises held outdoors at Wildcat Stadium, both graduates and spectators appeared happy to be back in the customary graduation venue as the end of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be nearing.
There were few signs of the masks and social distancing that were so much a part of this class’s senior year and the many hugs and handshakes brought a feeling of normalcy to the proceedings.
Valedictorian Timothy Johnson referenced the pandemic in his speech and spoke of how, although difficult, good things had come from it.
“The past year has been a hard one, to say the least,” said Johnson. “We’ve lived through a global pandemic, civil unrest, natural disasters of all kinds, a presidential election....It was a year when everyone and everything felt directionless, and yet we found so much when we began to look for it. We found community, hope, joy, inspiration, resilience — reason after reason to keep on going. And now we’ve made it and we’re right on the horizon of the rest of our lives and the future is looking brighter every single day.”
Salutatorian Nicole Johnson joked that she had “made a mistake” by doing well in high school  which had resulted in “having to give a speech today.”
“Public speaking is by far the worst thing in the world probably ever,” said Johnson, “right along with spiders.”
“So these past many years I found myself sitting around waiting for my life to start,” concluded Johnson, “and realized how much time had passed and just how fast it went by. I regret not enjoying more of that time and making as many memories as I could have. My advice is to go out and live your lives. Don’t let anything hold you back, especially the small stuff. Make life mean something, chase your dreams, meet new people and never give up.”
The third speech of the day was an unconventional presentation by teachers Cherri Block and Paul Kelley, both of whom are parents of graduating seniors (Darian Block and Jace Kelley). In a tag team speech accompanied by slides of the class of 2021 starting with their kindergarten year at Custer Elementary, the teachers urged the seniors to “Remember Who You Are” as they shared humorous anecdotes from the grads’ years at Custer schools.
The duo ended their presentation by announcing they were going to perform a song they had written in honor of the class. However, after being told they were out of time, they said they would wait to sing the song for the class’s 10- year reunion.
Student body president Heidi Moore served as master of ceremonies and a group of senior choir members performed “We Won’t Stop Dreamin’” under the direction of music teacher Michaela Doyle.
Following the announcement of the academic excellence award recipients, which included Moore, Block, Eli Steele and Machelle Wicks in addition to the valedictorian and salutatorian, diplomas were presented to the 63 members of the graduating class.
Balloons dropped from nets near the ceiling of the Armory as the graduates moved their tassels from one side of their mortarboard hats to the other. Then they marched forth to the strains of “Our Director” played by the high school band to take on the world in 2021 and beyond.

 

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