QUINCY — Graduation ceremonies ended high school for the Quincy class of 2024, but co-valedictorian Allie Manly thought about how it began.

The seniors entered high school in fall 2020, and faced considerable restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We were the class that never got to finish our eighth-grade year,” Manly said. “We never got a transition period to high school. And then we had to try to navigate and learn to do things differently during online learning. For some of us, it was a breeze, but for most of us it was a struggle.”

The class of 2024 worked through it. 

“Here we are now at the end of senior year, despite COVID, despite online learning, and despite what people thought we could or couldn’t do, we made it,” Manly said.

Co-valedictorian Dulce Ferrera said making it to graduation taught lessons, inside and outside the classroom.

“We learned more than what we were taught in those 49 class periods,” she said. 

Co-valedictorian Shea Heikes said it all seemed to have gone awfully fast. She recalled a third grade assignment, and her wish for a superpower that could stop time.

“Since then there have been countless (times) during my educational journey where it feels like time is passing too fast,” she said.

But time moves on regardless, she said.

“Now as the class of 2024 it is our turn to go our separate paths,” Heikes said. “It’s time for change, and change is daunting, but I believe that apprehension is better than indifference because it shows we care.”

Manly said she thought any advice from her would be superfluous because from here her classmates would be making their own choices. 

“After today, everything is completely up to you,” Manly said 

The structure that school provides ends with graduation, she said.

“It’s going to be different and new, and it’s going to be up to you. Make sure that whatever you do, it’s something to be proud of,” she said.

Ferrera did give her classmates some advice, one of those lessons she said she learned outside the classroom and one that will help her get more out of life. 

“Stepping out of my comfort zone in the spring of my junior year by joining theater allowed me to learn more about myself,” she said. “Trying this encouraged me to continue to try new things,” she said.

Ferrera said she joined the band and choir as a senior, and what she gained from those experiences prompted her to wish that she had overcome her fears earlier, she said.

“I can take what I learned into the next chapter of my life,” she said. “It is not too late to take this first major step out of what makes you feel safe.”

Heikes and Ferrera expressed gratitude to their families and the people who helped prepare them for the future.

“As we move into the time for change, know that we are not traveling alone,” Heikes said. “We have the support of our loved ones. I know that I, for one, could not have made it to where I am without those people, and I can’t express my appreciation enough.”

Ferrera said there will be challenges, and that her classmates should embrace them.

“It is true that wherever you go after (graduation) is up to you,” she said. “But another more important truth is that you can and should face the unknown that is life after high school. Know that you have people to support you along the way.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

    Graduation was a hot day and Quincy High School graduates were out there in two layers of clothing, so one graduate cooled off with the help of a handheld fan.
  

    A member of the Quincy High School class of 2024 accepts her diploma.
  

    A Quincy senior exchanges jokes with a teacher as he waits for his diploma.
  

    Seniors in the Quincy class of 2024 find and wave to family members in the crowd during the processional.
  

    Quincy seniors search for family members in the crowd.
  

    A Quincy graduate gets congratulations from administrators and school board members as he receives his diploma.
  

    The ceremony over, Quincy graduates turn the tassel.
  

    Seniors enter the stadium during graduation at Quincy High School.