Years of hard work and commitment by the Class of 2021 at Lynnville-Sully High School culminated with special ceremonies over the weekend. At L-S, 39 seniors received their diplomas during commencement exercises on Saturday evening, May 22.
Fifteen high-achieving graduates were recognized during commencement services and given Academic Excellence Medallions. To qualify, the students finished high school with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above. Pictured are: Left to right, Caitlin Alberts, Brooke Baarda, Jaden Brand, Denali Conover, Cally Gibbs, Bryar Hill, Dylann Huyser, and Korinne Jansen.
Academic Excellence Medallion recipients continued - Laci Keen, Cayler Noun Harder, Dakota Seastrom, Hadley Tice, Krystal Van Dyke, Megan Van Zante, and Meleisha Vos.
The 39 graduating members of the Lynnville-Sully Class of 2021 were the stars of the show at commencement May 22. The seniors walked in to a full gym of proud family and friends, were seated, and L-S Superintendent Mr. Shane Ehresman welcomed everyone in attendance. Following the Citizen of the Year presentation, Mr. Aaron Shipley, high school principal, presented 15 seniors with academic excellence medallions, Mr. Ehresman recognized the three honor graduates who read their speeches, and the seniors were presented diplomas by Tammy Vos, school board president. Upon presentation of the Class of 2021, the students flipped their tassels, tossed their caps in the air, and celebrated with family and friends in the congratulatory line that formed outside the school. The high school chorus and band both performed during the ceremony under the direction of Mrs. Frankie Richter and Mr. Josh Piering.
Dylann Huyser, Co-Valedictorian
I want to begin by congratulating my co-valedictorian, Cayler Noun Harder, and salutatorian, Meleisha Vos, on their titles this evening. You are two of the most hard-working and dedicated people I know, and I’m honored to stand alongside you both. I would also like to express my gratitude to the individuals in my life, without whom, I couldn’t have faced the last four years.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my mom for the infinite number of things she does for me. Thanks for yelling downstairs every morning, “Are you up down there,” and then being sure to follow up five minutes later since I like to lie and say I’m awake and then fall back asleep.
Thanks for the countless lunches, meals, and snacks you’ve packed for me whether it’s for school, a football game, a basketball game, or a track meet. Above all else, thanks for all the little things you do that often go unnoticed by me: Throwing my uniform or jersey in the wash the night before a game so it will be ready in the morning, getting forms filled out and turned in for me, even if it’s at the last minute, and always being in the stands - no matter what sport, what night of the week, or what Iowa weather we face that night.
Now before he thinks he’s been forgotten, I’d also like to thank my dad. While his list of duties are different than my mom’s, they’re equally as important. Thanks for always starting my car in the winter so my seat heater has a chance to get warm before I drive the long, one-mile drive to school. Thanks for leaving me post-it notes when I need a pick-me-up. And after the season we’ve had together, I can’t go without mentioning your position as the team’s “track dad.” Thanks for being the energy we needed on long, cold nights in the in-field, giving your advice about everything, even if we didn’t ask. I also appreciate you thinking you are above all rules even at state track, and somehow finding a way to get the 4x100 team into the field house and a way to go onto the track yourself yesterday. All jokes aside, I think I speak for all of us when I say you’ve been so much fun to have “coaching” this season, and I’m lucky to have a dad like you to coach me on everything for the rest of my life.
As you all know, the position of valedictorian is selected based on academics and grade point average. While I have spent the last four years working tirelessly to maintain my grades, the lessons I want to talk about tonight don’t pertain to academics.
The first lesson I want to talk about is the importance of finding your thing. Freshman year, I was the only girl from our class that was a cheerleader. Before the first big pep rally I cheered at, I started second guessing being involved in something that no one else from our class was involved in. Luckily, I stuck it out and cheering became one of my favorite things about high school. Just because no one else is doing something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it out. By sticking with the things everyone is doing, you cut yourself off from so many opportunities to experience things you might love.
Next, I want to talk about being successful in high school. A lot of the time, people look to someone who has been successful and think they have all of the answers. This is definitely not true! While I wish there was one singular, fool-proof formula that would get you through high school, there isn’t. Looking back on the four years I’ve spent at Lynnville-Sully, I think I can speak for all of us when I say you learn as you go. A few examples that come to mind are not jumping out of Mrs. Van Wyk’s classroom windows, not eating carrots you find in Mrs. Richard’s lab, and not making inappropriate hand gestures in school yearbook photos. I know one thing for sure about high school, you are going to make mistakes - probably a lot of them. It might seem like the end of the world at the time, but when you’re done with high school, you’ll have the skills, resources, and relationships you need to move forward into the next chapter of your life.
Finally, the last lesson I want to leave you with tonight is to not take the little things for granted. It’s easy to look around at Sully, Iowa, and think it’s nothing special - believe me, I’ve thought this many times during high school. For the last four years, I have dreamed of this moment.
Getting my last sign-out form completed, clearing out my locker for the last time, getting to enjoy my last football game, basketball game, prom, and track season. Especially after missing many of these things last year, this year feels extra special. One regret I do have though is wishing for it all to end. As I spent time writing this speech and reminiscing over the last four years, I can’t believe how good we’ve had it. I also can’t believe I’m admitting how much I might miss this place. There’s definitely been times I’ve thought, wow, I can’t wait until I graduate. Now that it’s happening, I know how much I’m going to miss coming here and being with my best friends every day: Eating lunch together, walking the halls together when we said we were going to the bathroom, and making plans for the weekend during practice.
If you remember anything from my speech tonight, let it be this: High school classes and academics are important, but the life-lessons you learn and relationships you make over these four years are equally as important. Find your thing, make mistakes, learn and try again, and slow down to appreciate the little things, because before you know it, you’ll be walking across this stage or moving on to the next phase of life.
Finally, congratulations to my fellow classmates. I can’t believe we’re graduating!
Cayler Noun Harder, Co-Valedictorian
Good evening! My name is Cayler Noun Harder, and I am this year’s co-valedictorian. I am honored to be able to speak today. First, I want to say congratulations to every one of us in the Class of 2021! This has been a long journey but the final moment is here where we say goodbye to this chapter of our lives and move on to the next one. We did it!
On behalf of the Class of 2021, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who is sitting in the crowd or listening to the Livestream today and anyone else who has played a role in helping each one of us reach this milestone in our lives. Without each one of you, we would not be here today.
When I sat down to start writing this speech, I came across a story that seemed appropriate for this moment.
A father said to his daughter: You graduated with honors, here is a car that I acquired many years ago...it is several years old. But, before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them I want to sell it and see how much they offer you. The daughter returned and said, “They offered me $1,000 because it looks very worn out.”
The father told her to take the car to the pawnshop. The daughter went to the pawnshop, returned to her father and said, “The pawnshop offered $100 because the car was very old.” The father asked his daughter to take the car to the car club. The daughter returned and said some people in the club offered $100,000 since the car is a Nissan Skyline R34, an iconic car and sought after by many.” The father said to his daughter, “I wanted you to know that the right place values you the right way. If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you. Never stay in a place where no one sees your value or you don’t feel appreciated.
People who don’t know their value often settle for less than they are worth. In relationships, their job, their friendships...they are worth way more but they settle for someone else’s definition of their worth. That is the difference between MOST PEOPLE and the few. That is the difference between people who LOVE the life they have created for themselves and those who are unhappy with their life. You have to know your worth. Most people will allow just about anyone to influence their perception of themselves…But people who love their life refuse to accept the opinions of others.
Everyone sitting in this room is talented in their own way, and each one of us is capable of creating an amazing life. It does not matter what path we choose after our graduation. Some of us may go on to college, some of us may go into the workforce, some of us may choose trade school or to return to our family farm. Some of us will serve our country in the military. We are all different, but we are equal, and we are all special. We must build our self worth by the work we do every day. Only we know what we are truly capable of. Your destiny is in your hands!
We have been equipped with the tools we need to be successful, thanks to our family, friends, teachers, staff members, coaches, administrators, pastors, and community members. They have worked tirelessly to instill good values in us, and to give us the education, skills, and discipline we need to meet challenges that may lie ahead. We are fortunate to have attended one of the best schools in the state of Iowa. Who would have ever thought that a small community in the middle of Iowa would have so many talented people?
Each one of us has our own support system. We need to lean on our faith and the people who love us so that we can become what we are truly meant to be. When we are strong and feel confident in ourselves, we are positive and more helpful to others. We may not have the power to change the entire world by ourselves, but we can start by achieving our own goals.
I am excited to see what everyone in this Class of 2021 can do! This is our time! We are the future, and we can make a difference, and we can choose to lead in a positive way. Go get it!
Meleisha Vos, Salutatorian
Hello, guests, students, staff, and graduates from the Class of 2021. As crazy as it may seem, we made it! I think we’re all still in shock. Our class has been a handful since elementary school. We changed colors countless times, got soccer banned on the playground, and even managed to get one of our recesses taken away fifth-grade year. We didn’t stop after elementary, either. In middle school we suffered through the first (and last) science fair, wiped out in the parking lot while playing Infection, and refused to take showers after P.E. because we “weren't that sweaty.”
In high school, we tackled people in powderpuff football, jumped out of windows, and got way too upset over homecoming dodgeball. We hung out in the parking lot, made TikToks at every opportunity, got into wrecks, some of us more than others, and, for some inexplicable reason, tried to kick the ceilings. I never understood the motivation behind that. So yes, our class has always been a handful.
But we’ve had our moments of glory, too. We raced Mrs. Foster and almost beat her, held the first Halloween dance, and – most notably – we all graduated – even though some of us cut it a little close.
I was going to come up here and give a list of all our accomplishments, but ours are a little more unusual than most. We’ve been through three business teachers, two ag teachers, four choir directors, three Spanish teachers plus Mr. Van Stryland, and a grand total of five band directors. Our softball team got third at state, and our football team managed to beat North Mahaska two years in a row. This year, we sent eight seniors to state track, and our junior and senior years, we swept the homecoming competitions.
We’ve had a lot of successes throughout our thirteen years here, and now it’s time for this chapter of our lives to come to an end.
Graduation is all about looking back and celebrating our time here. But it’s also about looking forward to where we go next. Some of us will leave here and go into the workforce, some will go into the military, and others will go to college. But either way, as we get older, we will never be the same as we are now, sitting here today – and that’s a good thing! As you go out into the world – embrace the changes that will come your way – and change into someone better, braver, than you were the day before. These changes will come in many different forms. Some of us will have to learn how to do our own laundry, and others will have to learn how to make it to class on time. For my part, I’ll have to learn how to stop procrastinating – eventually.
Class of 2021, no matter what we face in the years to come, there will always be people here supporting us. We graduated, but we couldn’t have done it without them.
So thank you to our teachers who put up with us when they could have kicked us out, and thank you to our parents who made us go to school every morning. Thank you to our administrators for signing our diplomas and unleashing us on the world.
Perhaps the most heartfelt thank yous go to Quizlet, various energy drinks, test retakes, and the naps we took in study hall to get us through the day. We really couldn’t have done it without you. Most of all, thank you to God for protecting and providing for us, no matter what we have gone through and will go through. But my biggest thank you goes to the Class of 2021, for making this chapter of my life so memorable. In the words of the 45th president of the United States, it's been “just fantastic. absolutely unbelievable. wow. thank you, thank you so much.”
