The creativity and wit of the Stansbury High School class of 2016 were on display during their graduation ceremony Friday evening at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus.
While the ceremony followed the usual tropes of high school graduations with speakers, performances and cap tossing, the seniors injected some of their personality into the proceedings.
The class of 338 graduates also showed its academic strength by earning $3.4 million in scholarship money.
Maggie Beazer and Rachel Payne were recognized as co-valedictorians for the class after both achieved the highest scores ever seen at Stansbury High, according to Stansbury High principal Gailynn Warr. The scores take into account graduates’ grades, the difficulty of their classes and their college assessment test scores.
Beazer, Payne and salutatorian Nathaniel Johansen all addressed their classmates, families and friends gathered at the athletic center.
Beazer, who will attend Harvard for chemistry, explored the reality of high school compared to the way the experience is portrayed in popular culture through shows like “One Tree Hill” and “Boy Meets World.”
“High school is not always Friday night lights, or pep rallies, or talking at your best friend’s locker,” she said. “We got those sugary, All-American moments in doses, but not as often as TV would have us believe.”
In her address, Beazer also spoke about the importance of having a mentor like she had in Stansbury High cross country coach Steve Allen, who she said helped her gain confidence in herself as an athlete and person. She also acknowledged the challenges her classmates have faced and will continue to face in the future.
“Maybe for some of us the storyline seems abstract, or it’s still ongoing,” she said. “That’s completely fine too. It’s not always easy to find a concise moral lesson when you’re going through something hard. This isn’t Full House.”
Payne challenged herself through a full Dr. Seuss-inspired address that described the importance of finding love for yourself and being a positive force despite the potential pitfalls the graduates would need to consider in their personal and professional lives.
In addition to keeping with his signature rhyme pattern, Payne also included a few of Seuss’s trademark made-up words while laying out a clear message.
“They say that the trick is to just love yourself, believe you can do it in spite of everyone else,” she said. “A love for a challenge, a boisterous path, a love for yourself and for people that pass, will get you ahead in the world, just you wait, soon you’ll be knocking on Bill Gates’ gate.”
Johansen started his address with a profession of his love for the people of Stansbury High, before sharing the value that he’s found in doing quality work in everything he does.
“You become your best by doing good work,” he said. “In a world where hard work, and the potential of the hard worker, are lazily ignored in the pursuit of quick and easy, I have found good work is the only work worth doing and being the best me, is the only me worth being.”
Johansen said he found success, including being named salutatorian of his class, through focusing on going above the bare minimum.
“I’ve found every good thing in my life — every joy, every satisfaction — in doing more than was asked of me, in doing good work,” he said.
Senior Jaedri Wood also spoke and poked fun at graduation speakers praising individuality at a ceremony when everyone is wearing the same cap and gown. She also discussed the real value of a diploma and emphasized the spontaneous nature of life, especially outside the confines of high school.
“After all, life is an improvisation,” Wood said. “You have no idea what’s going to happen next and you will most likely be making stuff up as you go along. So seniors, go out and be successful, but don’t buy society’s materialistic definition of success, because it’s not working for anyone.”
Warr also got creative during her address to graduates, in which the principal took a peek into the minds of graduates through the characters of Pixar’s 2015 film, “Inside Out” — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. Warr emphasized finding a sense of well-being in a world when no one has enough time to do the things they need to do.
“So graduates, find that sense of well-being,” she said. “Embrace all of your emotions because those are what make you the amazing and wonderful person that I have grown to know and love over the past few years.”
Before the presentation of diplomas, the senior ensemble choir performed the song “Breaking Free” from “High School Musical” and Conner Clark played “Waterfall” by Jon Schmidt on the piano.