Messages prepare Hononegah graduates for future endeavors

MARIANNE MUELLER PHOTO The Herald
Chloe Benson, Abigail Piliponis, and Sarisha Kunwar celebrated graduation day.
Hononegah Community High School graduates heard words of encouragement, helping them prepare for future endeavors on Saturday, May 24 at the BMO, Harris Bank Center.
The concert band warmed up the crowd by playing a medley of tunes.
Loud cheers arose as graduates entered to “Pomp and Circumstance.”
Principal Chad Dougherty welcomed everyone to the commencement of the Class of 2025.
Dougherty gave special thanks to Kelly Rosik who has been the Principal’s Secretary the past 25 years.
“This is the last year that Kelly will be serving Hononegah Community High School.
“Every one of the years she has been at Hononegah she has assisted seven principals with the preparation of graduation ceremonies”
Under the direction of Mrs. Carolyn Frieden The HCHS senior choir members perfectly blended harmonies and melodies while singing our national anthem.
Dougherty introduced Student Body President Halliway Crouch with a memorable message.
Crouch credited her parents, and her sister, saying special words about each:
“As a class, we have moved many mountains. We started our freshmen year with the hurdles from a post COVID world and then added AP classes, school dances, intense extracurricular’ and sports and often real world jobs that require long hours for terrible pay.
“In all seriousness, high school is hard. We even found out what it was like to clash with the Administration. Yes, Mr. Dougherty, I had to bring it up, don’t kick me off the stage just yet.
“Us seniors fought hard to play powder puff this year and we finally got our way.
“We have experienced a lot in our short time here and I am sure more will come.
“I’ve never understood why I got the privilege to grow up with the opportunities I did.
“When a girl my age my age maybe 20 minutes down the road who is probably much smarter and could write an entirely better speech, one who talks sharper and leads stronger, who nurtures her siblings and works way to hard only she comes home to an empty house, empty of food in the fridge, empty of good water to drink and empty of love in the air. I have never understood why she is in that position and I am in this one.
“These situations aren’t far from reach. This is not a plane ride to an impoverished country, this is not just a news article you read online, they’re here, maybe some even in the room with us.”
Crouch left these words of encouragement, “Leave things better than you found them, leave people happier, leave communities stronger and leave this world more grateful than you are right now. We will never understand how lucky we truly are to stand here today and to walk across this stage.”
Dougherty called the names of those who will be going into service to our country.
“We look forward to placing your pictures on our military wall. Please bring that to us when you finish boot camp and your advanced training.
All veterans were asked to rise to be recognized. Dougherty thanked all for their service, those who have served and sacrificed for this great nation, “Our freedom is owed to you.”
Dougherty addressed graduates, “Class of 2025 you’ve done it. You’ve written your chapter in the Hononegah legacy.
“You joined us as wide eyed freshmen, we welcomed you on your freshmen first day, back in 2021 it was Friday the 13. You learned your way around the labyrinth that is Hononegah, which is no small task.
“You made new friends. You started to get involved in athletics, activities and sports and pushing yourselves in the classrooms, building friendships to last a lifetime and I hope they do, learning academic and social skills along the way.
“Now you sit before us as mature students, ready to take on the world. You capitalized on the experiences created by your teachers and as a class you have achieved an amount of feats in academics and athletics, too many to mention here today.”
All joined in recognizing dedicated staff members, and teachers, who have shown students support.
“I often say that Hononegah is the only community high school in the region and we feel that. We are fortunate to be operating in this community and I feel tremendously fortunate to have this dedicated group of professionals serving our students everyday,” Dougherty added.
The class of 2025 demonstrated grit and determination to succeed and in the process many honors have been bestowed upon them.
“We had 85 students who were recognized with a Summa Cum laude, that is a GPA 4.0 or better, 44 students were recognized as Magna Cum laude, and 3.75- 3.99, and 49 recognized as Cum laude- 3.5-3.374.
Additionally we had 213 seniors take 518 advanced placement exams.”
Dougherty shared more impressive statistics on SAT scores before introducing the Top 25, and named colleges they will be attending.
“The most important decision you’re going to make at Hononegah is what you’re going to do when you leave Hononegah.
“We know you are going to make the world a better place because you made Hononegah a better place.”
Senior choir members came together to sing “Live for Tomorrow.”
Early graduates who earned their graduation requirements in just seven semesters were recognized.
Teacher Mr. Anthony Myers introduced Salutatorian, Connor Diemel.
“This achievement honors four years of focus, discipline and ambition and is the result of embracing challenges in the consistent pursuit of personal and academic growth.”
Meyers described Diemel as a clever, exceptionally witty, and deeply principled, and someone who holds tight to his convictions.
“He is by his own admission often his worst critic, instead he doesn’t let them hinder him, which he uses as fuel.”
Diemel began by thanking teachers. Coaches, teammates, classmates, and especially his family before diving into the subject of failure.
“Failure, not something usually celebrated, but perhaps one of the most powerful teachers we have.
Conventionally failure is treated like a detour, a deviation from success, something to avoid at all costs. I have come to realize that it is not the opposite of success, it is the foundation of it.
“If you never fail, your expectations are too low, and you will never reach your full potential.
“Everyone of us at some point in our lives have failed, maybe it was a test, a project, a goal or maybe it was something more personal, something we aimed at for years that crumbled away at our fingertips.
“Though success is the primary goal, our failures prove that we are aspiring to something meaningful, something beyond our current capacity.
“If our aspirations are properly aligned, failure becomes a central component of who we may become.
“With examples of my parents and brothers I learned from a young age to hold myself to high standards, standards that can be difficult to meet.
“As you can see I came comically close to graduating at the top of my class, which I suppose you can say is more of an achievement than a shortcoming.
“By far my most gut wrenching failure came in the state semifinals match, where I lost in the final four seconds of double overtime crushing any hope I had of fulfilling my lifelong goal of becoming an ISHA champion. After the final whistle blew I sat on the mat watching the winner celebrate.
“Thousands of hours chasing my dream, gone in four seconds. In the arena I sank to the concrete floor stunned and silent, it was one of the hardest moments of my life.”
Diemel credited his teammates for picking him back up, classifying them as family.
“These moments have often sparked the most growth. The old adage is, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“There is still a tournament to wrestle. As my Dad used to tell me I have to stop feeling sorry for myself.
“I ended up wrestling back to third place even with a fully torn ACL defeating an opponent who had beaten me twice earlier in the year.
“As we move forward I challenge all of us to set goals that scare us, embrace the challenges that come with them and know that failure is not the end, but the beginning of something greater.
“The future belongs to those who dare to reach beyond our limits, lets make it ours.”
Math teacher Mrs. Lisa Pryor introduced Valedictorian Avery Miles.
Pryor described Avery as one of the rare students who excel in every subject. Her work ethic, kindness and quiet leadership make your classroom a better place to be.
“Avery is pursuing a career in mathematics.
“The world needs brilliant courageous problem solvers and I have no doubt she is going to be one of the best.
“The best leaders are those who lift others up, who quietly lead by example and remind us that today’s toughest problems can be solved with a little heart,” Pryor said.
Miles opened by saying, “If you ask my classmates they’d probably tell you for the past four years that I’ve been insisting that I didn’t care about class rank. But if you ask my mom she’d tell you about the time I was sitting in the stands at Kelsey Field at a graduation for the class of 2021 listening to the Valedictory speech saying that is going to be me one day.
“I have been given the lifelong blessing of being a twin, I have answered a lot of twin related questions. Being a twin gave me a built in competitor, and I thrived on that. It pushed me to be stronger and sharper and to never settle in every aspect of my life.
“It wasn’t just about competition. Being a twin is a rare and amazing experience, one that not many get to have. It is a bond that is hard to put into words and I feel incredibly honored to have lived my life with that kind of connection by my side.
“This past year has taught me something even more important. Sometimes choosing not to compete is the bravest thing you can do. Swimming was my world for as long as I can remember. Somewhere along the way I stopped doing it for me.
“I was doing it for the image, the expectations, the pressure to be the person everyone thought I was.
“Walking away from it was terrifying but it gave me something I hadn’t realized. I was missing, room to breathe, to relax, the chance to finally ask myself what did I really want? The truth is you can’t live your best life if you are too busy living up to someone else’s version of success.”
Miles expressed special gratitude to her teachers for challenging her to grow and to her family. “To the class of 2025 whether you have your whole life already planned or are still figuring it out remember to do everything for you.”
Superintendent Micheal Dugan certified the 106th graduating class of Hononegah High School. He reminded students to hug their parents before leaving.
Board of Education President David Kurlinkus asked that everyone join in a moment of silence in memory of Steve Cofoid.
“We gather to celebrate the completion of your high school years and the beginning of the next chapter of your lives.
“I ask that you pause for a moment and think about everything and everyone who made your journey memorable.
“You are prepared to face everything not so much because you learned not what to think, but rather how to think.
Civility is a constant, you must be able to disagree with those who disagree with you.
Learn to listen respectively. Civil discourse seems to be under attack.
“If you show respect you will receive respect, be compassionate toward others and show kindness to others. Always seek the truth.
“How you react to disappointments will determine the type of person you will be known as.”
Kurlinkus referred to a story about two students in Kane County, Ill., who had perfect ACT scores. In reply he said, “Hononegah had four.”
“You are from a school that still expects educational excellence. You carry our hopes and our dreams and for that we love you. We are confident that you will meet challenges that come your way.”
Diplomas were given to 438 students, by school board members, with names read by Mr. and Mrs. Haab.
Senior class president Natalie Fish. Fish thanked the leadership and guidance of the school before instructing graduates to turn tassels from the right to the left.
Purple and Gold Balloons dropped in celebration.