Mid-Prairie graduates can’t wait

WELLMAN — Mid-Prairie High School’s senior class counted the minutes in their high school for the last time, Sunday afternoon during their graduation ceremony.

Five exceptional students of the 2023 class earned the title of Valedictorian: Grace Conway, Amara Jones, Alivia Poock, John Stultz, and Molly Yoder.

Three of these remarkable students delivered sentiments to their fellow classmates.

Conway reminded her classmates of the people that have helped and will help them in life.

“I’m not standing here today because I am smarter than anyone else,” Conway said. “I am standing here because I have surrounded myself with people who have endless love and support for me.”

“Little choices make up your life, and the people you choose to surround yourself with is one of these that has the biggest impact,” she said. “So, choose good people.”

John Stultz engaged the audience with lighthearted jokes and his own understanding of what makes life successful.

“I have to be completely honest,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right that I was only given three minutes to try to tell you about my life as a student at Mid-Prairie … that being said, I guess I will have to try my best with the time I’ve been given.”

After engaging the whole crowd in an inside joke pertaining to the school counselor, he dove into more serious topics.

“We have been truly blessed to be able to go to a high school like this,” he said. “While other schools have to worry about drugs and fighting our biggest problems at Mid-Prairie is running out of cheese sticks at lunch.”

“There are going to be times for each and every one of us when life is going to be rough,” Stultz said. “It is in moments like these when we are truly changed for better or worse.”

“So, if I can offer one sliver of advice, it’s to look to God,” Stultz told his classmates. “In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God says, ‘My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made great in weakness.’ God can take the brokenness and weakness in life and use it for something great all we have to do is ask and put our trust in Him.”

“I know this might seem like a strange piece of advice to offer on a day like today, but it is the best I can offer,” he said.

Following Stultz, Poock addressed the Class of 2023 and commented on all the time they spent waiting for this moment and how they can spend the rest of their waiting time as they venture out into the next step of life.

“During our time here, we spent so many minutes waiting,” Poock said. “As Freshman we lined up at the door seven minutes early because we were so excited to get home and finish our first homework assignment or we were so ready for high school to be over already.”

Poock walked the class through memories of waiting for classes to end, lunch to begin, summer to start, and the next thing to come.

“Yet again we counted down the minutes until the day we would graduate,” she said. “Even now, we’re waiting for the minute that this thing is over.”

Poock encouraged her class to use those minutes of waiting to talk to someone new, provide excellent customer support at work, or do something else.

“Go out there and make your minute worth it,” she said.

Even as these newly dubbed young adults prepared to go out from this ceremony and begin the next chapter of their life, they said farewell to the people and moments that brought them there.

“We want you to know, not everything is changing,” the choir sang. “I am still your dreamer.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com