JHS classmates celebrate their success

“This is a very special evening for some very special people,” said superintendent Dr. Vickie Artman as she welcomed the audience.

JHS principal Hunter Kreuter noted that with graduation, the students “begin to forge a path for the rest of their lives. ... We have several students who are honored tonight for their accomplishments for the last four years at high school and also at Shawnee Community College.”

Kreuter presented certificates to seniors, who in addition to their high school graduation requirements, also pursued college studies at SCC. Libbie Lumbley will receive her associate’s degree in August. Hayden Forthman, Keeling and Troy Latham completed 30-plus hours of college credit.

Forthman and Lumbley as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, addressed their classmates.

Lumbley observed how “all the students here today have put in a lot of hard work to get here and stand before you as graduates. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we’re thankful it’s finally over. Every experience we have faced over the years has led to who we are today and will shape how we are as functioning adults in today’s society. Our high school careers are finally over and now we get to move on to bigger and better things. We are finally able to follow our dreams and pursue our passions.”

But, she noted, “despite the excitement for the future,” she will miss a few things, including “the jokes we make that no one else would understand” and “our teachers dearly, as they have had a large impact on who I, and several of my fellow graduates, are as people.”

Looking over the Class of 2023, Lumbley said, “I could not ask for a better group of people to call my former classmates and fellow graduates. Let us look toward our new lives! And, in the words of Effie Trinket, ‘May the odds be ever in our favor.’ ”

Forthman reflected on the friendships the JHS Class of 2023 has developed.

“We’ve been told our whole lives that while we are close friends, it may not always stay that way. My fellow classmates are not just my friends, they are my family, and I urge us to stay that way,” he said.

He voiced his class’ appreciation to the staff and to the community for their support.

“From partaking in our fundraisers to giving us a second senior trip, you (the community of Joppa) have always been there to help the Class of 2023 when we needed it.”

He also thanked his family, especially his parents. “Even though the upbringing you provided me had struggles, it made me stronger and prepared me for the many struggles I will have in my life.”

Forthman concluded that the Class of 2023 is the future.

“We will go on to face problems and find solutions unrecognizable from the perspective of now. When that time inevitably comes, I urge you all to not to shy away from progress, but to embrace it and make this country better for it,” he said. “There’s change coming and light at the end of the tunnel for all of us; we just have to keep moving as one united force. The Bible, as well as (Abraham) Lincoln, said, ‘A house divided against itself will not stand.’ However, if we unite as a class, as a community, as a people of this nation, we will not only stand, but weather any storm now and forever.”

Following a slide show of the graduates through the years and a presentation of flowers from students to their families, Kreuter presented the students to Joppa-Maple Grove school board president Kevin Castleman for presentation of diplomas. School board secretary Peggy McNeill presented her granddaughter Ava McNeill her diploma.