FAIRFIELD – Fairfield High School awarded diplomas to 111 seniors on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon at Trojan Stadium.

The stadium’s home bleachers were packed with people who had come to congratulate the Class of 2024 on their accomplishments during their time as Fairfield Trojans. The two seniors selected as guest speakers were Ethan Hsia and Carley Seeley, and they both shared humorous and heart-felt anecdotes from high school, and gave sage advice to their classmates.

Hsia encouraged his fellow seniors to “be bold” and not to be afraid to try new things. He spoke about how he was glad he tried new things in high school, like joining the Vox a cappella choir, band, improv and the musical.

“I blossomed under those leadership roles,” he said.

Seeley told the graduates that they will surely experience disappointment at some point in life, but it’s how they respond to it that will reveal their true character. She said change is an inevitable part of life, and what matters is how we adapt to it. She knew that well as a cross-country runner who had to run in the blazing sun and bitter cold, like during her first cross-country meet with a heat index of 110 degrees, and in her last cross-country meet where it was a chilly 22 degrees.

The Union caught up with a few seniors after the ceremony to reflect on their time in the school district and look ahead to their future. Seniors Addison Ferrel, Lucy Kuehl, Savannah Hollander and Sam Weaton were asked to name their favorite K-12 teacher, and they all gave the same answer: Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Julie Gleason.

“She cared about her students a lot, and she always looked out for us,” Ferrel said. “She came to all of our graduation parties, and still supports us.”

Limiting their focus to high school teachers, there was near unanimity again with Ferrel, Kuehl and Hollander all answering that math teacher Mrs. Michelle Higgins was their favorite, while social sciences teacher Mr. Jake Engle was Weaton’s choice.

“She’s the sweetest person ever,” Hollander said of Mrs. Higgins. “She’s always willing to go out of her way to help you.”

Weaton said he chose Mr. Engle because he makes learning fun.

For their favorite high school memory, Kuehl said it was attending football games, while Ferrel said it was winning the conference in volleyball. Hollander said her favorite memory was winning their first basketball game at Centerville.

“All of our hard work finally paid off,” Hollander said.

Weaton said he’s proud of the recognitions he’s received in extra-curricular activities, earning All-Conference and All-District honors in all the sports he played.

This fall, Ferrel and Hollander will both attend Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny to study elementary education. Ferrel said she was inspired by the aforementioned Mrs. Gleason to go into education, and after Ferrel did a school-to-work program with the elementary and middle schools, she knew she wanted a job with kids.

Hollander said she helped Mrs. Julie Rayburn in her kindergarten class this year, and “it made me fall in love with teaching.”

“I loved kindergarten so much,” she said.

Kuehl will attend the University of Iowa to study radiation sciences. She was inspired to follow that path by her sister Gabrielle, who is an X-Ray technician.

Like Ferrel and Hollander, Weaton will attend DMACC, but will enroll at its campus in Boone. There, he’s going to focus on golf, not just by playing on DMACC’s golf team but also studying it in the classroom, where he’ll major in turf management and business management while doing online Professional Golf Association school. By passing online PGA school, Weaton would get a degree to be a course professional, and could go on to give golf lessons or manage a golf course.