RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS file to the gym doors Saturday and get ready to march past friends and family in the top photo. Richmond High School graduate Emily Brennan gets a hug and kiss from boyfriend Nicholas Anan Saturday after her graduation ceremony in the bottom left photo, and Richmond High School graduate Mariah Alexander givers her mother Kristy Alexander a hug and rose as part of a graduation ceremony tradition Saturday.
Among them were two exchange students who spoke during the ceremony.
Salutatorian Josee Geaghan thanked the parents and talked about the importance of relationships during her address. She told fellow members of the Class of 2017 that their friends will be their biggest supporters and cheerleaders.
“Always, always allow your passions to lead you,” Geaghan said.
Valedictorian Hunter Curtis talked about character during his address.
Character shapes who we are and is not tangible, he said.
“Character shines through when we volunteer for a local nonprofit, when we stand up for what we believe in or simply when we do the job that no one else wants to do,” Curtis said.
Good character is needed if graduates want to be known for their kindness and generosity, he said. Being kind to others and staying true to their word, he believes are the key components in establishing good character.
“After we graduate, we must use the lessons our teachers taught us about valuing the ideas of others so that we can begin leading society to be more understanding and tolerant,” he said.
Curtis left his classmates with a teaching by Aristotle: “Choice, not chance, determines your destiny, dreams and values.”
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