'The good news is you're the pilot'

WILLARD — The announcement of Carson Wiers as valedictorian and Bryce Dials as salutatorian highlighted Sunday's Willard High School graduation ceremony. It was the school's 133rd annual commencement. Also announced were the winners of $12,500 scholarships — Braydon Thompson and Emily Zamano. Dials was the first to speak: "Time flew by and we were in high school where we viewed graduation as a distant memory to be made," Dials said. "I recall this past August sitting in class with two of my classmates and having a moment of realization. We said, 'We are here, this is really happening.'" Dials read a quote by motivational speaker Michael Altshuler that said, 'The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.' "Growing up everyone repeats the same two-word phrase that I'm sure we have all heard hundreds of times, 'time flies,'" he said. "We hear this over and over and over again and even though we think we understand it, we really never realize how true it is until now, sitting here in our caps and gowns, on the day we have all thought of for quite some time. "For all the parents here today, I'm sure that you know the truth behind the statement as well, but I wonder if time flies even faster when it's not you but rather one of your own crossing the stage." Dials continued to say wherever the Class of 2023 goes, the memories are what they will share and reminisce about forever. "Altshuler was right," he said. "Time is flying, but the good news is, we are the pilots. We get to choose how our time is spent, where we are going, what we will be doing and the new memories we will be making. As we continue down our individual paths, I hope that everyone remembers the journey we went on together, and carries it with them wherever they go." There were 104 candidates for graduation. Bryce Dials was class president, Ilee Jaramillo was vice president, Brennen Pence was secretary, Cassidy Hamons was treasurer and Rebecca Honaker was social chairman. Class colors were crimson and white, the class flower was a crimson and white carnation and class motto was, "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." Araceli Obando was the next to speak. "Thank you to our teachers who have guided us up until this point, to our friends who have carried us through the good and the bad, and to our families who have always prioritized our tomorrow," Obando said. "You have all made our high school experience one to remember. "In fact, that is exactly what I ask of each of you to do today: to remember. Remember the laughs of people you knew but never talked to; remember the coldness of the bleachers on your thighs during football games; remember the light of your computer screen during late school nights; remember, so you can let your past avail your future." Obando said high school became something to remember on Sunday. "It will no longer be something we experience, but something we look back on, and when we look back, I hope we all acknowledge our time here as a period of deep-rooted friendships, ideologies and memories," she said. "High school has provided us with people who have shaped who we are forever as well as provided us with the opportunity to shape others. "Maya Angelou once said, 'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' So let's never forget that above all, character is what will always be remembered and our impact is what will continue long after we've walked these halls for the last time."