Here’s to the Class of 2023. May you do great things in the years to come.

Several area graduations have already taken place; this Sunday, it will be Great Bend High School’s turn. The speeches will attempt to offer congratulations and inspiration, or motivation, if you will, to make the world a better place. No doubt you graduates will be reminded to thank those who helped you get this far – especially parents for most of you.

Over the years, we’ve heard a fair share of these speeches; they have ranged from awesome to rambling, humorous to hum-drum, motivational to monotonous and plagiarized to preachy. Some of the best commencement speeches have stressed overcoming past and future hardships and failures to bravely follow your dream.

During the pandemic when speeches were delivered virtually, President Barack Obama told the Class of 2020, “I hope that ... you decide to ground yourself in values that last, like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others. You won’t get it right every time, you’ll make mistakes like we all do. But if you listen to the truth that’s inside yourself, even when it’s hard, even when its inconvenient, people will notice. They’ll gravitate towards you. And you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.”

Enjoy the celebrations, the speeches and the acknowledgement of this milestone. If you’re graduating from Great Bend USD 428, you may know that the district’s mission statement is this: “Our mission is to educate and prepare all students to become responsible citizens and lifelong learners.” Moving on after receiving a diploma, the mission statement that will matter most is you own, the one you choose.