Enumclaw class of 2023 graduates

Even the overcast sky couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm as the Enumclaw High School class of 2023 celebrated graduation June 14.

(See bottom of this story for more photos from the graduation ceremony.)

Held June 14 at Pete’s Pool, the graduates remembered good times and bad, shared joy with their friends and family, and were reminded to just keep truckin’.

A total of 278 seniors graduated this year; of those, 51 will attend a 2-year college, 101 will attend a 4-year college, 14 will start an apprenticeship program, eight will enter the military and 15 will go to trade school.

The anticipated graduation rate is 92%, and the class as a whole has earned at least $72,700 in scholarships, according to the school district.

Enumclaw High School principal Dr. Rod Merrell introduced the class with the help of the EHS Chamber Choir, which performed the Pentatonix arrangement of “Imagine” by John Lennon.

“This evening I want to challenge you to not be afraid to fail,” Merrell said, recounting a story from his youth in which he attempted to get his pet toy poodle to fly using helium balloons. “(That) was not the first time I would fail and certainly not the last. I tasted failure many more times through my career in high school.”

Despite some less-than-stellar showings on the volleyball court and in class, Merrell learned an important lesson about failure: The pain of failing indicates you’re probably moving in the right direction.

“I fail in high school because I didn’t try,” he said. “And that’s the worst kind of failure, the failure to show up, and the failure to give it my best effort. As I look back over my life, I’m now convinced that failure can be a good thing, especially if we can view failure as an opportunity to learn something new, or to discover something about who we are. … It takes a lot of courage and strength to pick yourself up, and to continue fighting for your dreams, especially when you set your goals high.”

Finally, he said: “Do not try to launch your house pets.”

Class speaker Carly Hilt has been a leader on the Principal-Student Advisory Council who has worked on student panels and educating policymakers. She plans to study mechanical engineering at Montana State University.

“Today’s the day been working towards for years,” Hilt said. “But what does this day and this milestone really mean? It’s the end of one journey that has given us the knowledge and skills needed to face the world. And it’s the start of an exciting new journey that will open doors, present challenges and propel us towards our goals.”

Although not everything in high school might seem like it translates into real-life skills, Hilt encouraged the graduates to remember that those lessons made them better learners — and that skill will take the students anywhere.

“You have earned your seat here because you are a learner,” she said. “Over the past four years, this class has developed social skills, whether it was on a Zoom call, or in person during the return to school. You’ve adapted from your mistakes and challenged yourself to make new ones. You’ve earned your independence and responsibility. You will continue to learn outside of the classroom as you make your way in life. True learning is not defined by a grade point average. It is defined by your character.”

Fellow student speaker Maria Pitzer, who will attend Baylor University in the fall, recalled witnessing the fierce rivalries of Enumclaw Middle School and Thunder Mountain students as a new freshman who had just transferred to the school district.

At the time, she wondered “how am I supposed to fit in with kids who already have deep rooted friendships, beliefs, and apparently, rivalries? That last thought was soon quenched,” she said. “Because as many of you know, I talk way too much to not make friends. … We all watched as eventually that middle school rivalry began to fade. Not completely, of course, but slowly … friend groups expanded and others downsized, some fell in love and others fell out of love. … Soon, it was no longer Thunder Mountain against EMS. It was just the class of 2023 against everyone else, especially the freshmen who kept getting the bathroom shut down.”

Whether through sports, music, friendships or their education, Pitzer encouraged her classmates to cherish memories like the ones she remembers.

“For the past four years, we have truly gone trucking through everything,” she said. “From every Friday night sports game to every Monday morning first period. And yes, even through COVID. … And so I leave you with this. Just like the last four years of your life, the next 40 will probably be much harder. Yikes. Sorry to be the one to break that bad news to you. … The best advice I can think to give you is to simply just keep truckin’. … Life might get a bit messy at times. But don’t forget to look up and see the laughter, and the happiness, that’s always there.”