BY DAN HILDEBRAN
The Keystone Heights High School Class of 2025 celebrated its departure from the campus it had called home since the seventh grade while paying tribute to a classmate they lost last year.
Class President Melanie Crabtree told her classmates they were ending one chapter in their lives and beginning another.
She advised her classmates to look back fondly on the good memories they made during high school and on the silly and foolish pranks they pulled on campus.
“We want to be able to look back and remember the silly things we did and how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown,” she said. “That is called maturity. Learning from something dumb and becoming better because of it.”
Three salutatorians
Keystone’s Class of 2025 had three salutatorians: Tristan Dukes, Michael Golden, and Emily Weiner. Each presented an address to the graduates.
Dukes said high school wasn’t about just textbooks and tests.
“It was about growth,” he said, “about discovering who we are. We faced challenges we didn’t expect, from tough exams to uncertain times, and yet here we are, stronger and wiser.”
Golden proclaimed that each of his classmates was a star.
“Right now, you are shining brightly, and you’ll shine even brighter in the future as you grow and pursue your goals,” he said. “Currently we are here together as one big constellation, but now our paths will diverge as we go live our own lives. However, I know that our paths will converge again someday. Whether it’s seeing each other walking by on the sidewalk, working together at a company, or hanging out at the park. We will meet again. So, when the day where we meet again comes, let us meet again as stars.”
Weiner advised her classmates to appreciate each relationship in their lives.
“Upholding your relationships is one of the most important things you can do in your life,” she said, “and I’m sure every person here who has made it past graduation can attest to that.”
Be Great
Valedictorian Curran Capper said the Class of 2025 should appreciate the little things in life and embrace their imperfections.
He also exhorted his classmates to aim high.
“Be great,” he declared. “The world doesn’t need good people. It needs great people. Greatness lives inside all of us. Everyone has a passion, a faith, a reason to be great. So do whatever it is that makes you great because that’s who we are. Work hard, achieve your dreams, and live for success.”
Parents of deceased student accept diploma
Before giving the commencement message, Principal Laurie Burke presented a diploma to the parents of Ayden Graff.
Graff was killed in a September 1 traffic crash in Gainesville. He also attended Santa Fe College.
Also killed as a result of the head-on collision was 17-year-old Calin Coates, a senior at Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School in Putnam County.
Burke told the audience that Graff was a classmate, a friend, and a part of the senior class’s hearts.
“Though his time with us was cut far too short,” Burke said, “the impact he made will never be forgotten. As we celebrate this milestone, we carry Ayden in our hearts, knowing that he will always be a part of the class of 2025.”
Surround yourself
In her message, Burke, like Weiner, emphasized the importance of relationships.
“Always remember,” she said. “the people you surround yourself with is the person you become. So be around loving, successful, positive, supportive, accountable, and responsible people and be this person to others.”
“Be thankful for the awesome support system that showed up here for you tonight, as well as some who could not come,” she added. “And remember, we cannot do this life alone.”
