Editor’s note: With rain imminent, New Palestine High School’s May 24 commencement was abruptly concluded so graduates could hurry inside the school before a downpour. The fast finish came just as Anne Bauer, president of the Class of 2024, was about to offer remarks and lead classmates in turning their tassels. She’d composed a short speech, knowing it came near the end of the ceremony, but she didn’t get to deliver it.
The Daily Reporter reached out to Bauer, editor of “The Crimson Messenger” school newspaper at NPHS, and invited her to share her speech with the community in print. She graciously agreed. Here it is.
Congratulations, Class of 2024! I’m going to keep this short, don’t worry, I know everybody’s probably half asleep and ready to go home.
So many “thank yous” need to be said, but it can mostly be summed up in a few short words. Thank you so, so much, to everyone who’s sitting in these seats right now. To quote myself in the letter I wrote freshman year, “If you’re reading this, you survived!” Thank you to everyone on stage beside me, and to all the parents, the grandparents, the band chilling on the field back there, and to all the others here today — you helped us get here. To all our families and teachers specifically, you are the reason we are here. Thank you. And thanks to Mrs. Clayton for reminding us every day that we are, in fact, smart and good looking.
From chucking pencils and donuts over the fieldhouse walls, to hearing endless construction updates (this year, guys, I swear), there’s no one else I would’ve rather lived out my high school experience with than all of you right here. Hopefully you can say the same.
And right as we’re all about to have our crazy, confetti, Taylor Swift moment, I’d love to leave you with a couple of words from the legend herself: “Long live the walls we crashed through. I had the time of my life, with you.”
