Student Council President Layla Keith speaks

Good afternoon everyone. Before I begin, I want to congratulate the entire Class of 2026, and thank all the friends, families, and teachers who are here to celebrate with us today. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come! I think a lot of us at some point in the past four years thought this day was basically never going to come, but it turns out people weren’t exaggerating when they said the past four years would go fast. I almost feel weird even saying such a “cliche” thing now, but I’m not sure when it stopped sounding like advice and started sounding like reality. I can’t remember when our favorite time of day slowly became 11:59, the last minute to turn in an assignment. Or how June 7th, the day we’ve talked about for years, somehow turned from something so far away into “two weeks away,” then “five days away,” and now... somehow that day is today. But now that it’s finally here, just look around. How does it feel? For some of us, this might be the most exciting day of your life so far. For others, it might feel a little more complicated than that. For ME, as I look into the crowd right now, it doesn’t seem right that you’re all in Caps and Gowns.

 

One question I think all of us have been asked AT LEAST once throughout high school is, “What is your favorite part about living in Waseca”? And 9 times out of 10, the answer will be “the community”. It’s just an instant and easy answer for most of us. But when you think about it, that could mean a million things. The people, the schools, whatever. But what does that ACTUALLY mean?

 

When people say ‘the community,’ what they really mean is that there’s always someone who knows you well enough to notice the little things, sometimes before you even do. In a good way, hopefully. It’s the teachers who could somehow tell you didn’t do the homework just by looking at your face. The classmates who said ‘I got you’ and then immediately asked you what the assignment was because they didn’t have it either. But it’s also the people who showed up not only for the big moments, but also the small ones. The games, the concerts, the panic at 11:45pm trying to finish an assignment that we swore we’d start earlier next time... and never did. There was always someone there for you. That’s what people mean by community. Not perfection. Just Presence. And the funny thing is, we probably didn’t always appreciate it while it was happening either. We were too busy counting down to today. But now that today is actually here, it’s clear that ‘Waseca’ isn’t just a place we went to school—it’s a place we grew up in. It’s our home.

 

And a home isn’t something you fully understand while you’re still in it. You don’t really notice how much it shapes you until right now. When you start getting ready to leave it. Because Waseca isn’t just where we went to class or sat in traffic before school. It’s where we figured out who we are. It’s where we learned how to show up for each other, how to learn, fail and somehow grow up without even realizing it was happening. And now we’re standing at this weird in-between moment. Everything familiar is about to change, but what we might forget is that everything we learned here will come with us.

 

So maybe the point isn’t that we’re leaving Waseca behind. Maybe it’s that we’re taking it with us. Every friendship, every lesson, every memory that made this place feel like home in the first place.

 

Now, as we all flip our tassels and say goodbye to a place that once felt so normal, remember that you’re not really leaving it behind. No matter where life takes us from here, we’ll always have the support of our community behind us. We’ve all laughed when Mr. Nelson says,

‘Once a Bluejay, Always a Bluejay,’ but it’s true.

 

As we take our first steps into the next chapter, remember that you aren’t alone, and you’ll never be alone. You basically have an entire army of people supporting you and rooting for you every step of the way. So take risks, have fun, and celebrate this incredible accomplishment together. Congratulations, Class of 2026—we made it. Thank you.