Red Level Salutatorian Jacob Catrett said that every little moment over the past five years has taught his entire class something.

“In the past five years, we all have participated in academic clubs and athletics,” Catrett said. “While at the time we did not know this, each class that we attended, ball game we played in and progress and report card we received taught us something. What those academic classes and progress and report cards taught us is that you must have the drive to do good, you must have dedication that you want to succeed with a good grade, and ultimately, you must have the grit and determination to earn what could be yours. Athletics taught us even more than you every thought it did. Without it, we would not learn a better way to live in the real world. In those moments in the game, whether it is football, basketball, baseball, softball or volleyball, you will see that you need to:

“1. Dedicate yourself to being number one.

“2. Have grit and determination to be better than your opponents.

“3. Work hard during the season and before and after.

“4. Remember, teamwork is essential. Without it, you would be nowhere.

“Everyone has a role in each organization. If you are that person who comes to every practice, who works hard, who dedicates themselves to being number one, the one who goes the extra mile, then the possibilities are endless when your number is called. You could be the one who throws the winning touchdown catch, or drain the buzzer-beating basket, or hit the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. You see, that’s not where it stops. If you carry these same principles that we have learned in academics and athletics and apply them in your life after high school, then who knows.”

For Valedictorian Dalton Myers, graduation was a time to reminisce on his high school career.

“I figured out that it is impossible to cover all the memories we have created over the course of thirteen years,” Myers said. “I cannot put our whole story in one five minute speech, but I can reminisce on a few that stood out. Elementary school was the time when we were doing whatever made us the cool kid at the moment. It feels like it was just yesterday when AJ was stuck under the wooden fridge in our play area in Kindergarten and Cory’s goal in life was to be a UPS worker. In middle school it was our time of trying to fit in or find the group we were going to be a part of and we got our lockers for the first time. Those two years were full of Magic School Bus videos in science and jokes being made in history class. As high school came everyone’s attitude and character were developing to become more mature. On the very first day of ninth grade we were told we would have to get our acts together and start acting like adults if we wanted to succeed. High school never produced a bad moment from us, and even though we have had our teenage drama, we always eventually worked it out and laughed it off. We will all have our own special memories. I personally will never forget the days when Ethan would sing songs in Spanish or the days like the senior picnic when the whole class got together and had a good time.”

Myers said that even though his classmates didn’t get along all of the time, they have created memories that will be cherished for a lifetime.

“There have also been some hard lessons as well,” Myers said. “Someone once said, ‘Failures are a part of life. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you’ll never change.’ This quote can be applied to anything one does, but it is especially reminiscent of Coach Catrett’s class for the past two years. After we failed our first test in there we realized we couldn’t change the result of it, but we learned to prepare and work harder for the next one to change it.”

Through thick and thin, Myers said that his classmates have always supported one another.

“If we look back at our failures, losses, wins, or victories, we could say we all stayed close and supported each other through thick and thin,” Myers said. “We have learned no matter what trials we may run into, we can get through them with determination and perseverance. Although we may have found our classwork boring most days we will one day value the knowledge and lessons we were given over our years here in Red Level.”