SHS COMMENCEMENT Rain clouds parted just in time Sunday afternoon to celebrate the Scottsbluff High School Class of 2024. The 116th annual SHS commencement ceremony was held in Bearcat Stadium, where more than 180 graduates walked the stage and celebrated their greatest accomplishment to date. SHS Principal Justin Shaddick opened the ceremony by recalling the year that the Class of 2024 entered high school, the same year he started as principal.
"It was a new challenge for each of us, coupled with the challenge of COVID protocols, rules, regulations and policy changes that seemed to happen overnight," Shaddick said. "I wasn't sure any of us would make it to this day. However, pressure makes diamonds.
" Shaddick introduced the first of two student speakers, Ashytn Schwartz, who recounted her experience as a childhood cancer survivor to illustrate the importance of overcoming and taking control of the many labels that are placed on individuals. "This label is not one I would have ever chosen for myself. I would much rather have been a star athlete or a killer student," Schwartz said.
"But we can do so much more with our labels than just letting them define us." Embracing her story and the labels she was given, Schwartz said, was a key part of growing up. Doing so opened many doors for her to affect the world around her in meaningful ways.
"My point is, as much as I hated being 'Ashtyn Schwartz, cancer kid,' I now embrace the label along with the opportunities and challenges that.