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Hughesville’s Class of 2023 gets advice from student speakers

By Mike Maneval 3 min read

HUGHESVILLE -- "Live life with your eyes open."

"Remember that today is a celebration of your accomplishments."

"Life always begins with a good playlist."

"It's only shameful to waste your talents and not try in the first place."

"Now go and make interesting mistakes… learn from these mistakes."

Hughesville High School's Class of 2023 heard a lot of advice at its commencement ceremony -- from student speakers Ethan Woolcock, Emma Freidhof and Jadyn McGinley, from keynote speaker and Navy Ensign Kade M. Heckel, and from English teacher Nicole Sampson, among others.

More than 120 students crossed the stage at Hughesville High School's Harold L. Schaefer Memorial Stadium.

After an introduction by Principal Tommy Coburn, Woolcock, the class vice president, began the evening's speeches. He noted that life and the world are finite and the ceremony would be the last time the Class of 2023 would be together, which he noted was both beautiful and sad.

"It's not really much of a life," he said, if we don't live it and appreciate it.

He evoked the words of author Terry Pratchett, who said that in a world full of winder, people invented boredom.

"Find beauty in the fact that life is finite," Woolcock said.

Woolcock also shared his gratitude for God.

"God deserves all the glory," he said. "I can do all things through Him."

Freidhof, the class salutatorian, said she was sad to leave behind friends but looks forward to the future. As someone who moved frequently during her childhood, she said she learned to say, "goodbye," but also, and more importantly, learned to appreciate new experiences.

"It was amazing to watch all that growth," she said of her class.

Friedhof thanked several teachers who had an impact on her education specifically.

"I would like to thank all the teachers for their hard work," she said.

Class valedictorian McGinley framed her remarks as a letter written to her younger self. Some of the advice in her letter included spending more time with her parents, who she said exemplified kindness and selflessness, and her siblings, slowing down so "you'll see the beauty" in your community, taking time to laugh and, through times of loss, holding on to cherished memories.

"Things are going to change," McGinley said. "You'll go off on different paths."

The commencement ceremony also included the dedication of the 2023 yearbook to English teacher Sampson.

"She has become one of our greatest friends," yearbook editor Cedar McCusker said. "She has always been there for us."

"The kindness you have shown me will never be forgotten."

Heckel, who graduated from Hughesville in 2018 before attending the U.S. Naval Academy, described losing his mother right as he started his education at Navy, in a class much larger and more diverse than his graduating class in Hughesville. Still, he said, his Naval class was bound together.

"Every day, we wore the same uniform," he said.

The additional support he received from family and friends in Hughesville also helped him process his grief, and taught him to be thankful to be from Hughesville.

Heckel told members of the Class of 2023 they need to figure out their relationships with themselves. He said their relationships with those who love them will in large part be determined by their relationships with themselves.

"Please honor them by living a life of character," he said.

He encouraged the class to work hard and to be thankful.

"One last, final piece of advice: Don't forget to have fun," Heckel said.

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