On Wednesday, Southwest Open School celebrated its 23 high school graduates, sending them off with a mission to remember their roots and make the world a better place.
Graduates walked into the ceremony to the song “Wake Me Up” by Avicii to the cheers and applause of the families and friends who came to support them. The song lyrics seemed to capture the thoughts of graduates as they prepare to start their next journey.
“I can’t tell where the journey will end, but I know where to start,” the song says.
After a welcome from Joe Kelly, the Ute Mountain Ute Red Sky Group performed to kick off the ceremony.
“As we do with such momentous occasions, we begin with a quote,” Kelly said. “‘Take pride in how far you’ve come and have faith in how far you can go.’ … Indeed, take pride in how far you’ve come. You’ve overcome many of life’s obstacles to be here today. Let this give you confidence in yourselves as you journey beyond SWOS.”
Student body President Kalista Summers read SWOS’s mission statement before graduation class speaker Leon Thom gave a speech.
Thom spoke of the gift of education, encouraging fellow graduates to be grateful for their education and the memories they’ve made while at SWOS.
“Today we celebrate this great achievement in life, in which all should be grateful for, because many in the world don’t get the opportunity to sit where we are today,” Thom said. “We’ll look towards the future while never forgetting the memories we experienced throughout the years with friends and teachers, and whether those memories are bad or good, they shape who we become.”
Thom also referenced a quote by Mac Miller, urging the other graduates to never give up.
“The number one reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go instead of how far they’ve gone,” the quote read.
Students chose SWOS STEM, outdoor education and gardening teacher devyn Lacey to be the guest speaker for this year.
Lacey addressed those in attendance, sharing that she had been surprised to be picked, as many of the students had informed that she had “boring” classes.
“Perhaps they invited me as payback,” she joked, before referring to a quote she read on a sweatshirt.
“Always be yourself, unless you can be a dragon. Then always be a dragon,” Lacey said.
Lacey spoke of the hard work and dedication it took for these graduates to make it to the graduation stage.
“For these seniors, it has taken their entire lives,” Lacey said. “For some of them, it has taken many tries, and here we are together … It has been a pleasure to meet and witness all of you, and it is wild that this is the last time that we will all sit together. I wish you all adventures beyond your wildest beliefs. I wish you peace and joy. I wish for our that you look in the mirror and like what you see. It may not be today, but someday. May the stories that are told of you be of your great character and sense of self.”
Lacey ended with a call to action, urging the graduates to make the world a better place.
“It’s easy to be mean and scared. It’s easy to say ugly things about people. It’s easy to use substance. It’s easy to be numb. It’s easy to settle for less. It’s easy to be less, but you are more,” she said. “You know the value of doing hard things. If you choose to fight, make sure you’re fighting for a better and more just world … I hope we’ve taught you how to fight, how it takes a lot of strength and courage and wit to win a battle without throwing a punch. I hope you look at this crowd of faces and feel like you did something.”
Following Lacey’s speech, the graduates took turns walking across the stage, officially closing the door on this chapter of their lives. Upon receiving their diplomas, the graduates threw their caps and celebrated this new milestone in their lives.
The names of the 23 graduates are Julian Barrera, Jamie Bartlett, Kayden Brooks, Matthew Dennison, Christopher Dressel, Elijah Holt, Michael (Beau) Hunter, Vance Norton, Xavier Osterloh, Elihu Parks, Gabriel Peabody, Coral Spelbring, Rhett Smith, Shayla Stone, Dawson Stubby, Kaleb Summers, Amora Tagle, Nathaniel Temple, Carlitos Tsosie-Hatch, Thom, Lexi Wiescamp, Josiah Yazzie and Veronica Yazzie.
To end the ceremony, Wiescamp addressed her fellow graduates in a farewell speech.
“I suppose I honestly never thought I’d be standing here today, let alone saying farewell to everybody,” Wiescamp said. “I want to congratulate my fellow classmates for being here. Over the past four years, I’ve seen you all grow into mature into amazing, smart and functional people. We all have grown up together, and now here we are, saying goodbye to go start our next chapter.”
