Dallin Waite

Good afternoon, class of 2025, family, friends and staff. It is one of the greatest honors I’ve had to stand here before you, speaking as part of this graduating class. I’d like to thank everyone who made this possible. The faculty, teachers, family members, friends and everyone who has supported us.

It is an immeasurable feeling to have come so far, to have seen so many of these amazing students, my peers, come so far. In Powell, we have a unique gift to stick through it, all of the years, all of the hardships and detractors. Many of us have come from preschool, elementary school and middle school, where we sat by the same people who still grace our presence today. Not many people can say they’ve had an opportunity such as this. To know so completely who sits at your side, to have known them for so long and through so much, is truly a testament to the quality of our wonderful community.

That’s what makes this day so inherently special, so important to all of us, not just as students, but to who we are to the people in our lives. We are children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and friends.

Our lives are the sum of our choices. Who we become as people, how we live our lives, is a direct reflection of those choices. Today, those choices, those decisions, those massive challenges we’ve all faced have brought us here. That’s the importance of this moment, of this day: All the journeys and the paths we’ve taken have led us to now.

With that being said, I want each of you to reflect on how we got here, those individual moments, that make up our very lives and shape us into the people we’ve become, and will continue to shape us as we go forward. I want you to remember those moments. Even though this day represents the end of a long journey, it is also a brand new beginning. As we move forward, remember to look around at your life, or you might just miss it.

Some of us, after today, may never see each other again. Others, those that are the most important to us, the most influential and key in our lives, will find ways to stay in touch. We may not see each other every day or every year and maybe even longer, but we will have influenced one another in ways no one else will ever be able to match. That’s what going the distance and sticking through it means.

We have endured bad days, rough seasons and a global pandemic. But we’re still standing strong, side by side, as we’ve always been. I have no doubt that all of us can go on to do something spectacular. We’ve supported each other through hard experiences, and we have cheered each other on through the joyful times.  As friends, we have spent time together doing crazy things, cheered for each other, worked together and built relationships. Those relationships and memories really matter.

Live your lives. Live them to the fullest, because what you can do, what all of you can do, is something no one can take away. We live in a powerful community with amazing people. Be proud of it and take it with you as you do something incredible that no one else can.

Congratulations, class of 2025!