Great Bend High School co-valedictorian Allie Gerhardt delivered this commencement speech to her fellow graduates during the program Sunday at Memorial Stadium:

When we hear the word success, most of us picture the same things: straight A’s, awards, and athletic achievement. I believed success meant checking all the right boxes, doing everything exactly the way it was supposed to be done.

The truth is in a couple of years success isn’t just about the number on the transcript or a title next to your name. If it were, every single one of us would be the same and have the same story to tell. Success looks like the student who struggled but didn’t give up. It looks like the person who showed up every day even when things were hard. It looks like choosing kindness when it’s easier not to. It looks like growth.

We’ve all had moments that didn’t go as planned. Tests we wish we could retake. Games we wish we could replay. Decisions we wish we could redo. Words we wish we could take back.

But those moments didn’t set us back, but they shaped us. If anything, they proved that success isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being resilient and knowing how to move forward.

And now we’re here, graduating, moving on, and stepping into a world that doesn’t come with a clear checklist. There’s no single path that guarantees success, no timeline we’re all supposed to follow. Some of us have everything mapped out. Some of us are still figuring it out or have no idea what we want our life to look like and that is okay. Because success isn’t about how fast you get somewhere. It’s about who you become along the way. As we leave here, we’ll be surrounded by new definitions of success with new jobs, promotions, and degrees. Those things matter, but they don’t define your worth.

Your worth is defined by your character. By how you treat people. By how you handle challenges when no one is watching. By the courage to keep going when things don’t go your way. So maybe success isn’t about having all the answers. Maybe it’s about asking better questions, taking chances, building a life that feels meaningful to you, not just one that looks impressive to everyone else. So as we move forward today, it is okay to not have everything figured out. The definition of success to us is changing, but what matters is finding what that success looks like for you.

Congratulations, Class of 2026.