MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer High School sent out its Class of 2024 Tuesday night with a fireworks display after a festive graduation ceremony.
The ceremony began at 8:24 p.m. (20:24 military time). Superintendent Steve Edwards opened the evening with brief remarks, invoking (as he did in 2023) his favorite quote, in which Muhammad Ali declares the word “impossible” to be an invention of people afraid of taking chances. He noted the four-minute mile, once thought by educated scholars to be an unachievable feat, has been done by over 1,800 people - 22 of them high school runners - since Roger Bannister famously eclipsed the mark 70 years ago.
“Impossible is not a declaration. It is a dare,” Edwards cited part of the famous Ali quote, imploring the Class of 2024 to do things thought impossible. “Everything is impossible until it’s not.”
Edwards was followed by addresses from valedictorian Alexandria Kuerth, salutatorian Megan Adams and elected class speaker Emerson Buzzell.
Kuerth focused her remarks on the importance of community, noting, “It’s the very foundation that’s gotten us here. Community is all about embracing each and every person.”
Adams discussed the importance of service, saying, “We can shape the world through service” and defining it as doing something for someone when you know it cannot be repaid.
Buzzell reminisced about many notable moments the R-P class has shared over its time from kindergarten and beyond, and declared whether these students spent their whole childhood in the district, moved here before high school or just spent this year as a foreign exchange student, “We are all Rockets.”
Principal Jennifer Anderson gave the final speech and implored the graduating Rockets to take risks and embrace vulnerability and new experiences. She added that every Rocket in front of her “brings something unique and imperfect that adds to the community.”
