The Class of 2022 held their graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at the Garrison Fieldhouse (Vinton-Shellsburg High School Gym).

Jozee White began the graduation ceremony with a welcome. She talked to her fellow graduates and encouraged them that as they write their life stories, to always choose, happiness, peace, and kindness over everything else.

Mr. Kingsbury followed up by reminding the graduates that this would be the last time they would all gather in one place together as students. Now they joined the ranks of the alumni to pursue their dreams and goals. He wished them all success as they leave the doors of Vinton-Shellsburg.

Superintendent Kyle Koeppen shared that this class has had to go through two years of shutdowns, and had to discover new ways to learn. He said that this class has shown the tenacity needed for life and that the adversity that they've already faced will serve them well. Tom Burke, President of the Vinton-Shellsburg School Board followed up, introducing members of the school board before addressing the crowd. He asked the graduates to think of a teacher, cook, or another member of the staff that had made an impression on them throughout their years in school. He encouraged the graduates to be the same sort of positive difference maker that they remember.

Carly Bendull represented the graduates and had the opportunity to leave them with a message. She encouraged them not to be a cow, but to be a buffalo. She explained that when cows hear a storm approaching they try to head in the opposite direction, and end up enduring the storm and just prolonging exposure to the storm because they simply can't outrun it. A buffalo, on the other hand, she said, waits for the storm to arrive and then charges right into the storm thus running through it and out of it faster. She encouraged her classmates to be buffalos and to head into the storm... "unless," she said, "another derecho comes to town" and then she advised finding suitable shelter.

The graduates chose Mr. Lorenzen to be their speaker. He talked briefly about what they learned in each of the subjects and how it will help them. Then he teased the students about the most important class out of all of their education had to be science, which brought chuckles for the science teacher. He reminded the class that every subject that they chose, was designed to help them succeed in life. "Regardless of status, wealth, or intelligence, there is one resource that no one has an unlimited amount of, and that is time," he reminded the graduates. He encouraged them to choose wisely how they spend it.

The graduation ceremony can be watched in its entirety here.

A few hundred photos can be seen here, downloaded, and used freely. Click here or here to start the search.

Congratulations Vinton-Shellsburg Class of 2022. I can't wait to see and hear from you, wherever you land!


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