‘Do hard things’
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 4 months AGO
Graduates of the Royal High School Class of 2023 turn their tassels to the left at their graduation ceremony June 2.
Joel Martin
ASB President Maria Salas urges her classmates to go out in the world and make it better.
The guest speaker, Royal High School history teacher Parker Griffin, reminisces about the times he shared with the Class of 2023 in his first year of teaching and their last year as high school students.
A new Royal High School graduate smiles at friends and family after the commencement ceremony June 2.
Newly-minted Royal High School graduate Maria Salas shares a hug with her grandmother Adela Briseño after the commencement ceremony June 2.
The car parade heads out of the Royal Intermediate School parking lot Friday to take a turn around town before the RHS seniors graduate.
Nine-year-old Casen Andersen, left, and his cousin, Royal High School senior Carter Noftle, prepare to move out in Royal High School’s pre-graduation car parade June 2.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 14, 2023 1:20 AM
ROYAL CITY — One hundred eleven Knights sallied forth from the Royal High School football field Friday, June 2, ready to take on any dragons that might come their way.
“Many things make you an exceptional graduating class,” said RHS Principal Courtney McCoy in her welcoming remarks. “You are driven. You are strong. You are gregarious. You get things done. You have that we-can-do-things we-are-going-to-do-things je ne sais quoi about you … So take that magical mojo of yours and always remember the American author Glennon Doyle's mantra: ‘We can do hard things every day.’ You can do hard things. Do them: the big, the small, things for you, things for others, things for the entire world. Our world is waiting for you, Royal High School’s wildly capable Class of 2023.”
The program started with Royal’s traditional car parade. Students, their cars festooned with banners, flags and signs, drove in single file out of the intermediate school parking lot and took a victory lap through town before coming back to the school and processing onto the field to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
After the Royal High School Band played the National Anthem, the 15 students graduating with highest honors – which meant with a 3.75 or higher grade point average – were called to the front along with their parents to be recognized by Assistant Principal Randy Miller.
The class speaker was ASB President Maria Salas, who reminisced on her classmates’ school careers.
“My fellow graduates, we did it. We rock.” Salas said. “All we ever wanted to do was grow up and move on to the next big thing. We grew up together in different classrooms anxiously waiting for the bell to ring at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day. We grew up reading picture books, and out of nowhere, chapter books. We wanted to grow up. We wanted to move on to the next school building. And now the next building is different for all of us.”
The guest speaker, chosen by the class, was first-year RHS history teacher Parker Griffin.
“It feels weird to be in a position of providing a speech that is supposed to be filled with wisdom and everlasting or changing advice,” Griffin said. “I was sitting in your shoes just six short years ago, wondering, what am I going to do with my life? Most of you have siblings older than me.”
Griffin went on to mention specific memories of his students: which ones had nicknames in his class, who played Wordle against him every day and which ones frequently had to be reminded to stay on task.”
“I'm gonna miss teaching you about taxes by taking 10% of all food that you brought into my classroom,” he said. “Thank you for feeding me most of the days … I was able to get to know each and every one of your unique personalities. As I look back on my first year of teaching, it becomes clear that we truly had a special connection. You never gave up on me. You never let me down, never ran around or deserted me. I hope that you continue to share that same energy to others.”
The speeches finished, RSD Superintendent Roger Trail formally presented the class to the school board, and Board President Craig Janette distributed the diplomas. Football Coach Wiley offered a closing prayer, and the Class of 2023 tossed its caps in the air and turned to face the world.
“We can do anything we set our minds to,” Salas said. ”Don't let anyone ever underestimate you. The little girl or boy in you is very proud of you right now. Keep making them happy.”
Joel Martin can be reached via email at [email protected].
INFO BOX:
The Royal High School Class of 2023
Haley Acencio-Beltran
Miguel Alcaraz Roman
Jonathan Alegre Rodriguez
Dylan Allred*
Jorge Alonso-Avila
Araceli Analco*
Bryan Aparicio-Noriega
Edith Avina*
Yoselin Barrera Arroyo*
Daniel Calderon-Velasquez
Karla Calderon-Velasquez
Estella Camacho Candido
Elifar Campos
Ruby Cardenas-Araujo
Kathleen Carlson*
Zayra Carmona
Liberty Carrasco
Franklin Castellanos-De La Cruz
Angela Castro Felix
Brian Cedillo*
Oscar Cervantes Chavez
Andrea Cortez-Ferrer*
Melissa Coyazo Gutierrez
Luis Fernando Cruz
Edgar De La Rosa
Ivy Delay*
Alexis Diaz Lopez*
Amber Dodson
Andrea Eaton
Rayce Eilers*
Diana Gonzalez-Castaneda*
Brayan Hernandez
Georgina Hernandez*
Kaleb Hernimdez
Silverio Hernandez-Serna Jr.
Samuel Hilario-Cedillo
Kimberli Huato Barajas
Detton Jenks*
Jocelyn Jenks*
Sergio Lara-Calderon
Kate Larsen*
Addison Lawrence*
Paden Livingston*
Jason Lopez Garcia
Brandon Lopez-Serna
Guadalupe Madrigal Torres*
Abaz Marcial-Moreno
Yoselin Mejia Villalobos
Judit Mendoza
Maritza Mendoza-Villanueva*
Abraham Montoya
Enrique Montoya
Magaly Montoya
Jisael Morales
Hernandez Alondra Morales
Orlando Huerta Moreno
Sofia Moreno
Daniel Murillo-Uribe Jr.
Ericka Murrieta Rojas*
Juan Nieto-Soriano
Carter Noftle*
Yuritza Orozco Lepez
Alejandro Orozco-Ramirez
Madison Ortega-Sanchez
Destiny Padilla Santillan
Briseyda Padilla
Saul Panuco Rojas
Abdon Perez Bravo*
Esly Perez-Pacheco
Luis Perez-Serrano
Haley Piercy*
Adrien Pruneda
Mauricio Ramirez
Esteban Samantha Rincon
Perla Robles Guerrero*
Ruby Rodriguez*
Kevin Rodriguez-Delgado*
Monica Rojas*
Rene Rojas-Ponce
Alexis Romero-Orozco
Ana Ruiz-Cisneros*
Lisbeth Ruiz-Gonzalez
Maria Salas-Moreno*
Juan San German-Cerritos*
Judy Santiago-Morales
Johanna Sario-Diaz*
Andrea Saucedo*
Alan Segura
Rayne Sheriff
Isamar Sotelo*
Juan Tolentino-Alvarado
Isaac Toro
Lesly Torres-Avila*
Brittany Torres-Garfias
Jordy Trinidad
Ivan Vargas Villafana
Sandra Velasco
Hugo Verduzco
Emmanuel Villa-Rodriguez
Josielyn Villegas*
Kaiden Wilson
Katley Zuniga-Calderon*
- With honors (3.0 GPA or higher)
With high honors (3.5 GPA or higher)
* With highest honors (3.75 GPA or higher)
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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