'The world is yours': LCSD1 celebrates the graduation of its three largest senior classes

May 24—CHEYENNE — It was the perfect day to celebrate the graduation of three of Wyoming's largest high school senior classes of 2024.

Laramie County School District 1 celebrated the graduating seniors from Cheyenne's East, Central and South high schools on Friday at Frontier Park, where families and friends filled the bleachers that faced the mobile concert stage.

They rang cowbells, blew horns, whistled and cheered from the moment their graduate walked in the procession to when they crossed the stage to receive their diploma.

LCSD1 Superintendent Stephen Newton congratulated the grads and asked them to take a moment to reflect. This might be an exciting moment for the newly graduated students, Newton said, but it's a bittersweet moment for their parents and teachers.

"In the midst of our joy today, we also find ourselves a bit sad," Newton said. "Your accomplishment is the end of an era for us. It is time to bid you farewell and wish you the best of luck."

The superintendent offered the graduates a sailboat analogy. Although they are much safer in the harbor, they were built to experience the world. He encouraged the seniors to take on every raging current and withering storm with the same strength and courage they built over the past four years.

"Our sadness, however, does not mean that you should stay," Newton said. "The world is yours. Go out and give it your very best. And when you hit the rough water that is sure to come, never give up, because all storms do pass."

East High Thunderbirds

Cheyenne's East High School was the first to hold its graduation ceremony Friday morning. Graduates wore silky gowns of soft blue with black linings to symbolize the Thunderbirds' school colors.

Principal Sam Mirich said this class faced challenges as freshmen unlike any other — thanks to a worldwide pandemic.

"This class entered high school differently than any other freshman class, ever," Mirich said. "It took courage, determination and a willingness to trust."

The students wouldn't have made it, he added, without the strong support system of their teachers and staff.

"(The faculty and staff) believe in building positive relationships with their students and with each other. They work together. They work hard. They support our students and build a learning community," Mirich said. "They're outstanding and talented. Thank you for all you do."

Senior Class President Oakley Simons asked her fellow class members a question she knew they'd been asked a thousand times before: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Whatever the answer to the question might be, whether it's continuing their education at an institution, enlisting in the military or joining the workforce, Simons said she hoped it made them happy.

"I hope that you remember that you are the only one that can give your life meaning. You can't get it from a boss, your teacher or a friend," Simons said. "The only thing that matters is if you say that you matter."

Central High Indians

Cheyenne's Central High is Wyoming's first and oldest school — it was founded in 1861 and transitioned to a high school in 1875, according to the Wyoming State Archives. Principal Karen Delbridge, who announced this during her speech to the graduating class early Friday afternoon, reminded students that they are a part of history.

"You are part of a rich heritage of people who have gone out into the world and made a difference," Delbridge said.

She congratulated the seniors on this landmark achievement and the endless list of their academic successes. Many of the students earned scholarships, maintained a 3.75 GPA or higher and are AP Capstone Diploma candidates.

"You are artists, actors, musicians, athletes. You have broken records, won championships and earned awards in your sport," Delbridge said. "You are ready for the next chapter."

She also extended her congratulations to the graduating seniors of Wyoming Indian High School. This year, the two schools formed a partnership with the establishment of a new cultural exchange program.

Senior class speaker Hailey Cooper encouraged her fellow graduates to head out into the world and make the right choice for themselves.

"Do you feel you made the right choice? You have to remember, am I on the better side? Is this what's going to be best for me down the line?" Cooper said. "If you answered yes to these questions, you decided to choose better."

South High Bison

As freshly graduated high school seniors get ready to embark on the unknown perils of adulthood, they traditionally hear speeches about never giving up, working hard and persevering when times get tough.

However, South High social studies teacher Erin Lindt told the class to embrace failure.

"I want to take a more unorthodox path and speak to you about failure," Lindt said Friday evening. "And wish you a lot of it in the future."

Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job as a TV news anchor. Albert Einstein was considered slow in school and was rejected from several universities. Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he invented the light bulb.

Lindt said failure is the catalyst of growth. In her own personal experience, Lindt said she failed her first attempt at her master's thesis, struggled with depression and felt unworthy of love many times throughout her life.

But this is something that nearly every person in the world — even legends such as Winfrey, Einstein and Edison — goes through.

"Failure creates growth. Failure will change you in fundamentally beautiful ways. You're going to meet disappointment, injustice, betrayal and irreparable loss," Lindt said. "The world does not care how many times you fall, as long as it is one fewer than the number of times you get back up."

Senior Class President Caleb Greenlee told his fellow graduates that opportunities in life will open for them, like "a light in the middle of the night when you're looking for the bacon in the fridge."

"The same way I had to pick up my pen to write this speech, sometimes you gotta start somewhere," Greenlee said. "Even if that just means showing up."

To watch each high school's ceremony on YouTube, visit tinyurl.com/lcsd1-senior-grads.

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.