The end of the year is quickly approaching and for a quarter of the LHS population, this means graduation. With this being the first year without the GRP, there were some new requirements to fulfill. One of the new requirements was every senior had to write a graduation speech. Normally at graduations, only one or two students who take the time to write a speech get to speak, but now, everybody gets a chance to reflect on their school experiences.
At first this new assignment wasn’t popular with the senior class, but according to both Mary Quinn and Katie Arnett, senior English teachers, the class warmed to the idea and learned some things about themselves.
“It’s been a good team-building effort,” Quinn said. “We’ve seen seniors say ‘We want you to speak at our graduation.’ They have built some camaraderie and really showed some respect for one another.”
It has had such an impact on the graduating class that 15 students are auditioning for the chance to speak at graduation. Even those who are not going to be giving a speech were able to appreciate it.
“It was a great way to mentally prepare myself for the end of high school and my next steps in life,” Lindsey Allen, senior, said. “Plus, I got to hear and tell some really funny stories of when we were all younger.”
“I personally loved this assignment because it allowed me to reflect and reminisce on all of the good and bad times and think about how each of my classmates have impacted my life, for the better of course,” Carlie Hurst, senior, said.
Graduation is Saturday, May 18. The two seniors selected to give their speeches are Emily Davis and Connor Philgreen. They will not let the class of 2013 down.