MARYSVILLE — The tone for the commencement ceremony of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School Class of 2013 was set in the John Linden Fieldhouse on Friday, June 7, where the class’ two valedictorians, Caitlin Kilgore and Cecelia Henderson, congratulated their peers on their achievements to date, while offering words of encouragement for their post-graduation futures.

Kilgore praised the M-PHS band for its award-winning performances, to which she was able to contribute, and noted that she can no longer be one of their number.

“Yesterday, I played alongside them, I practiced beside them, I suffered and triumphed with them,” Kilgore said. “Today, I listen to my band as a member of the audience.”

Kilgore reminded her peers that the M-PHS campus where they had experienced some of the most formative moments of their young lives, from in-class lessons and social interactions to special events and after-school activities, would no longer be their school anymore.

“The influence this campus has had on us is as extensively infinite as the influence we have had on it,” Kilgore said. “Our demeanor shaped our experiences, and therefore, through our actions and reactions, we made M-P a school.”

Henderson commended her peers for managing to juggle not only classwork and extracurriculars, but also family responsibilities and jobs, enough to reach the point when they’re all considered legal adults.

“We are now considered of sound enough mind to drive, vote, own property, attend jury duty and go to jail,” Henderson said on June 7. “While having these freedoms does not necessarily imply that we will use them responsibly, it’s now up to us to make mistakes, learn from them, and eventually become a little wiser. We’ve spent the last four years finishing our training as human beings, and tonight, that training is complete, and we now embark on building skills and character. The canvas is primed and ready, and now, it’s time to be painted.”

Kristofer Davies and Dillon Ahola delivered the reflection speeches for their class, with Davies exhorting his peers to emulate America’s founding fathers, while Ahola cited President John F. Kennedy’s pledge to send his countrymen to the moon as an example of how words become deeds through commitment, much like his fellow graduating seniors’ conviction to earn their diplomas.

M-PHS Class of 2013 President Dylan Hanson recalled some of his classmates’ more infamous stunts, from one student who drove his car onto the track, past the gates, to another student who place a security guard’s bike on top of the school’s stadium.

“As we look back on these stories, you’re no doubt wondering what will happen with this world while it’s in the hands of the Class of 2013, but don’t worry,” Hanson said. “You should be inspired by our creativity in figuring out how to do complicated tasks that will be remembered, because there are problems in the world that need the mindset of the Class of 2013, and after tonight, we’ll be released to take on that challenge.”