On Thursday night, Hutto High School seniors strolled across the stage to accept diplomas as the conclusion of their senior year.
Class President, Parker Cardozo addressed the crowd, thanking parents, families, friends and teachers for helping to make the day possible. He then congratulated the class of 2023.
“We are here to recognize our hard work and perseverance these past 13 years and celebrate this once in a lifetime accomplishment,” he said. Salutatorian, Kristina Sakewitz, said she wanted to be inspiring with her speech, which she believes is the epitome of her high school career. On her cap, she had lyrics from one of her favorite songs by Eli Young Band, “Keep on dreaming, even if it breaks your heart.”
“The lyric on my cap directly relates to what we are experiencing at this moment,” she said about the dream of giving a speech to thousands of people. “This is a dream I knew could break my heart, but I never stopped dreaming, and here I am today.”
Sakewitz was followed by valedictorian Ashlynn Albiter Dominguez, who finished with a 4.811 GPA and plans to attend Texas State University and major in nursing.
“We have reached the end of this long journey that has felt like an eternity for the last couple of months,” Albiter Dominguez said. “We have worked really hard to get here, especially since we started high school with the pandemic flipping our world upside down.”
She explained that the next part of the journey is different for every student, however she learned an important lesson along the way.
“Not everyone is going to learn and grow the same way, and that is okay,” she said. “Your success is not defined by the achievements of others ... sacrificing your happiness, health and relationships in order to feel better than everyone else is not worth a couple minutes of pride. You should not look at yourself in disappointment when others are at a different stage in life than you are. Your success should be defined by your own growth, success, achievements and dedication alone and from no one else.”
After the more than 580 students received diplomas and moved their tassels the Hutto school song was played followed by a fireworks display and mortar boards going into the air.
