Manning High School valedictorian Jabril Wilson told classmates on June 3 that his class "raised the bar" as far as education at the school was concerned.
"When you look at the percentage of students who are college- and career-ready, it's a sight to see," he said. "Some of us now have college degrees, and we could go to work Monday morning with those degrees if we wanted. We have degrees that no other high school student has ever had before."
"We reached educational accomplishments that have never been achieved before," Wilson continued. "These cannot be taken from us."
Wilson encouraged his graduates to "always remember where you came from."
"We have left our mark here, and now it is time to leave our memorable marks somewhere else," he said.
Wilson said that his classmates "are unforgettable."
"We always were and always will be unforgettable," he said. "We've always found a way to come out on top. Athletically, we have excelled, from our renowned basketball team to our golf team. Our athletics have always been memory-making."
Wilson talked a bit about his time on the junior varsity football team, which during his freshman year had a lackluster 0-8 season.
"We did not win a single game," he said. "But we never gave up. We turned a 0-8 junior varsity football team into a dominating senior-led football team that ended in a playoff run."
Wilson said it was the perfect example of the graduates' tenacity.
"No matter what, no matter how many times someone kicked us in our knees, we managed to stand tall," said Wilson.
Salutatorian Jesse Surette read a poem of his own design during his speech. Various phrases encouraged his fellow students to make their marks in the world.
"It's time for us to unite the new and the old," Surette said. "No matter your destination, always stay true. Be the best at being you. Wherever you go, break the mold, in the name of the black and the gold."
Surette urged his fellow graduates to keep working hard.
"This world will move on, with or without you and me," he said.
After graduation, Surette said the reality of finishing high school had yet to set in.
"The simple, yet complicated fact is that I have stepped away from my comfort zone, a place I have worked hard to conquer and people I have built good standing with," he said. "I have moved from the goals I set for myself."
Surette said graduates need to thank those who helped get them to this point.
"I emphasize we, because the people that have traveled with me along this journey are faced with the same questions," Surette said. "Am I ready? Can I do this? Do I really want it as bad as I said I did?"
As he searched to find an answer, Surette said he kept thinking of the phrase, "It's over."
"Our time is now waiting," he said. "(High school) may be over, but to all of you who take this step with me, it's our time to face the world."
