“Saying don’t be afraid is like saying don’t be human…Be afraid but do it anyway.”
That was the message delivered by Jefferson High salutatorian Emily McGinnis to her classmates during Sunday’s commencement. Fifty-one class members were on hand to receive their diplomas under the proud eyes of parents, grandparents, friends, teachers and coaches.
Those watching were part of the “support systems that got these graduates where they are today – that village” in the phrase “it takes a village,” said commencement speaker Wilmot Collins, Helena mayor.
He urged the graduates to remember the core values they learned from that support system, remember to laugh and smile daily, and do everything with love.
“Remember to have empathy and compassion in this life,” Collins told the Class of 2018. The world already has plenty of agendas in pursuit of hate, he said.
McGinnis advised her classmates to “Dive into life and don’t miss a moment.”
She also recommended they “choose to be kind, honest and forgiving.”
Valedictorian Josh Eckmann pointed to a quote from “The Office,” saying, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
While his classmates may never all be together again, he said, he urged them to leave thankful for the past and hopeful for the future.
The most important thing they all gained from high school was “learning how to learn,” a skill that will serve them all well for the rest of their lives, said Eckmann.
