SHS grads set forth on bright futures

SANDPOINT — "Friends, Idahoans, and countrymen, lend me your ears."

With that, salutatorian Daniel Ricks paid a nod to Mark Antony's speech in Shakespeare's "Julius Caeser" before saying that it was no surprise that posters dedicated to inspiration abound.

But none of that is what he planned to speak about at the 2024 Sandpoint High School graduation Friday.

"Why did the M&M go to school," he asked his classmates. "To become a smartie."

Be like that M&M, he said after the laughter, groans and scattered applause died down.

"Don't simply go into life expecting to come out the same person you are today," Ricks said. "Whatever your plans are after high school, which, by the way, starts now — high school is over — your plans after high school are now. Whatever your plans are, it will change you."

Make goals and go after them; don't be daunted by the problems that life throws at them, waiting for someone else to solve them.

"Remember to find your inspiration," Ricks said. "Find a goal that motivates you and stick with it."

A few years ago, valedictorian Devin McDaniel said she was posed with the question: What was her biggest regret in high school? At first, she was stumped, feeling she'd done things mostly right. But then she realized how many times she'd uttered the phrase, "I can't wait."

"In life, we always seem to be waiting on something, waiting on the next big thing," McDaniel said. "I definitely did throughout high school. I was always looking to breaks or track meets or the end of finals weeks."

But looking back, McDaniels told her fellow graduates that those aren't the memories that come to mind or what she'll miss.

"I realized that what I will miss were ice baths the night before cross country or track meets, the countless hours I spent in the climbing gym, or laughing uncontrollably with my best friends in senior English class," she said. "… But it was the simple little moments that I cherish the most, and I wish I had spent less of my time looking forward to the next big event and more time enjoying and being present and all the other moments."

It is, she reminded them, important to focus on the journey, relating a story about one of her first cross-country practices and her coach telling her to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. At first, she only connected it to running, but said she soon realized it applied to all areas of life.

"We're frequently presented with opportunities or situations that push us out of our comfort zone, and those experiences are normally negative or positive," she added. "But the thing is, we need that contrast in our lives; we need to experience the negatives so we can truly enjoy the positives."

Inspiration, SHS keynote speaker Wil Clark told his fellow graduates, is a funny thing. While a useful tool when working to finish overdue assignments or soon-to-be due speeches, he said the better question isn't what the nature of inspiration is but what causes it to happen in the first place.

After pondering what might cause inspiration — the deeds of a hero or grand multi-syllable words — Clark said maybe the question wasn't so simple. Stories such as those often make him think of what he hadn't done or dreams he'd left behind to pursue something more attainable. At first, it bothered him, but then he said he realized he was missing the point.

"It became clear to me that the one thing that inspires me the most in life is the passions of those around me," Clark said. "Sure, I sometimes don't reach the incredibly lofty goals I've set for myself. Sometimes, I feel as though I haven't accomplished any of my major goals, but I can always find reasons to be invested in the things I care about."

Because he is surrounded by people who have passion for what they do, he told his fellow graduates that he will always be inspired.

"As long as I surround myself with people who care about things, who let their passions out, I will always have the inspiration to continue on and pursue those of my own," Clark added. "And that, right there, is what I think is truly the special component of inspiration that often seems to be forgotten. Being inspired doesn't mean that any crazy goal you have will suddenly materialize in front of you. What it does mean is that you surrounding yourself with people who enable you to achieve what you want."

While more than 100 SHS graduations have come and gone, those weren't important; this day was their day, senior class president Taylor Granier said.

"Not only is it a day to honor our years of hard work and dedication, it's also a day to reflect on the past and cherish the people surrounding you," she told her fellow graduates. "Take a look around. For a lot of us, these are the people who ran beside you in the jog-a-thon or watched your Barbie bungee jump from the middle school bleachers, and these are the people who pride games with you, which, by the way, we technically never lost the spirit stick."

The people seated beside and around them have been with them and for them through all stages of life, and have given them the foundation to head off on "one of the most thrilling adventures of our lives," Granier said.

In her four years of leadership, she told those gathered that she learned one thing: Someone was always going to be mad.

"So don't focus on others' opinions and instead, focus on what makes you happy," she added. "Even if that's parking our cars in a circle to play cornhole and have a barbecue in the rain."

SHS principal Jacki Crossingham told the students that resilience has been a hallmark of the class, from their days as freshmen interrupted by a pandemic, which gave them little time to get to know one another, to rebounding to thrive as seniors meeting the challenge of the coming world head-on.

She praised the students for their resilience and growth, noting that their class motto, a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, perfectly encapsulates the class.

"'What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us' is the perfect capture of the perseverance, the growth, and the grit that you as a collective body of students have displayed," she told the 220 graduates seated at the center of a sun-filled War Memorial Field.

The graduates' selection of the quote challenges the reader to look within while recognizing the strength and potential that reside in each person, showing their character, values, and inner strength.

"I have full confidence that you will go on to accomplish extraordinary things," she told them. "Yours is a class full of unique, incredible individuals who have inspired us all."

    Devin McDaniel, Sandpoint High School Class of 2024 valedictorian, talks to fellow graduates about inspiration and their futures at Friday's commencement at War Memorial Field.
  

    Taylor Granier, Class of 2024 class president, proudly displays the spirit stick at Friday's graduation that the class, technically, never lost as she recalls what she will remember most about her time at Sandpoint High School.