In the cool Sunday afternoon air, 60 high school students graduated from the South Callaway R-2 School District.
The graduating class included 12 students who were part of the National Honor Society and seven received their diploma with honors.
Valedictorian Heidi Benningfield encouraged her fellow gradates during her commencement speech to not be afraid of the changes and challenges ahead.
Benningfield's main message to students was a quote from her father; embrace the suck.
"Life is full of suck," she said. "You will get thrown into a situation you can never possibly imagine saying 'how on earth did I get here?' Life is gonna pull you through ups and downs, twists and turns, highs and lows. The most consistent thing about life is that it's inconsistent. You can almost guarantee nothing will ever be perfect. You have to learn to embrace the difficult parts of life."
Bennington also told fellow graduates not to confuse what they get to do with things they have to do in their lives.
"You get to move on and something," she said. "You get the opportunity to try something new. You get the privilege of having a good education to help you be successful in life. The key word here is 'get.' There's a difference between 'I have to' and 'I get to.' That very different can determine your happiness in life."
South Callaway Commencement 2022 video:
Note: This video was mislabeled as 2020 but is of 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/9lzZOBAEyo4?start=1620
Michael Shine/FULTON SUN photo: Valedictorian Heidi Benningfield encouraged her fellow gradates Sunday, May 22, 2022, during her commencement speech, saying to not be afraid of the changes and challenges ahead.