Hello graduates of Gateway, friends and family! It feels good to be back in the school after being out so long during the pandemic.

I should begin by congratulating everybody who made it this far. I know a lot of students at this school are inclined to drop out early, so completing high school is quite the achievement. After this, some students will go on to work, the military, or to college. I highly recommend Carroll Community College right next door, particularly Professor Robert Young. He is an amazing history professor and is extremely lax with the classroom rules and penalties.

Speaking of professors, I should give thanks to a few teachers here. For starters, I would like to thank Mr. Larrimore and Mr. Schilling. As far as I am aware, every student in this school has been helped by Mr. Larrimore to varying degrees, usually major ones. Mr. Schilling has also helped every student in this school by helping organize events and delivering the Gateway Gazette. Also, in a lockdown drill in Mr. Schilling’s room, nobody is getting through an armada of students wielding screwdrivers and hammers! I would also like to thank the rest of the Gateway staff, although there are a few too many to list individually.

I suppose I should be discussing the graduating class a little bit too. I have attended school with many of them for several years and I am pleased to see they made it here as well. There will of course be a fresh batch next year, and another the year after that, hopefully forever. Gateway has long served as a place for students to turn their lives around and ensure their academic success. Success is not always a given from the beginning. As I mentioned a minute ago, many students are inclined to drop out early. This means that not every student will succeed, but Gateway does everything in its power to ensure they do. The students below their senior year still have a way to go to succeed, but I am sure they can do that. This year’s graduating class has achieved that success. Congratulations, class of 2021 and I wish you the best of luck! Thank you.