Pushing each other for excellence

Welcome President Fleegel, Superintendent Lundy, Principal Lybert, Vice Principal Guden, faculty, family, friends, and the Class of 2025. When I was a kid, I had to attend a few graduation ceremonies just like this, and like a kid, I couldn’t focus or sit still at all. However, I knew back then that no matter what I did in life, I did not want to be the person up here giving this speech. However, things don’t always work out how you want them to. Like losing my fantasy football league, which resulted in getting my entire body waxed clean. I have learned that my friends really like to push me out of my comfort zone, or as I would say, put me through as much pain as possible. That is why they decided to get everyone to vote for me to do this speech because it would be funny. Joey Adams said it best by saying, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?”

Looking back, though, I have realized that it is the people who push you out of your comfort zone that benefit you the most. This statement is very evident in the way the Class of 2025 lives. Our class has pushed each other to strive for excellence, and that is seen through our academic goals, athletic accomplishments, and talent in our drama and music teams. We have people in our class who are going to advance technology, educate the youth, provide service to the community, and take care of you at your lowest. We have multiple kids who have earned accolades in high school athletics and will go on to play college sports. We also have kids who are much more creative than me and excel in drama, music, and have led our many clubs to state and national appearances. Our class also does a great job of pushing teachers and faculty. Not to name anyone specific, but Tripp and Rylan definitely improved our staff's patience.

Moving on, this chapter of our life is coming to an end, and I don’t really know how to feel about it. I’m going to miss this community and all of the memories I’ve made here, and I’m sure my classmates can say the same. However, we have the rest of our lives to miss this feeling, so live in the moment and celebrate how far we’ve come. We’ll only get to walk across this stage once, and I think we need to take a second to be proud of ourselves. There are so many things that happen in life in so little time, and I think we often overlook how much we have accomplished. Everyone has their own story and overcame adversity to get to this point, and I wouldn’t want to go through high school with any other group of kids. In this next chapter in life, we’re going to meet so many new people, and all walk different paths in life. We should be excited to branch out and explore this big world, but don’t forget your roots. Thank your parents, thank your teachers, thank anyone else who got you here, and thank yourselves.

The Class of 2025 can accomplish anything we set our minds to, and we will be the future of this country. So, treat people right and help bring more kindness to this world. Take lessons we’ve learned from our short time in Medford and use them to develop as a person. So as life goes on, continue to push yourself and others, and continue to be great. Thank you! — Paxton Rothmeier