Groesbeck High Sal/Val speeches

May 26, 2023

Riley Dobson GHS Salutatorian

Good evening faculty, students, parents, and guests. I would like to thank each and every one of you for attending the celebration of the Class of 2023. Once again I am Riley Dobson and I’m highly honored to be this year’s Salutatorian.

First I’d like to start off by saying congratulations to my fellow graduates. We have worked extremely hard the past four years and our hard work is finally paying off. I’m so glad it was you guys I got to spend my high school years with.

Next, I would like to thank my parents, family, friends, and teachers. Without y’all none of this would be possible.

Mom I can’t begin to describe how blessed I am to have you. For the past 13 years, you have motivated me and made sure I was able to achieve my goals.

Dad, you made me laugh and always told me it would be okay. No matter the grade or how much I complained about my homework you could always put a smile on my face.

Coach Sloan you have been such an inspiration to me and I can only hope to inspire others the way you do with your students. Having you as a mentor in school and in church this year is something I will always remember.

Most of all I would like to thank my sister Brianna. Some of yall may know her as Dobby, but I was never able to catch on to that trend. Bri and I have been inseparable since we were younger and I’ve always aspired to be like her. I’ve always known she was my role model and I’m so lucky to have her as my best friend.

On my very first day of high school, my mom told me it would be the best four years of my life. If I am being honest I never believed her. As I went through the years I kept waiting. Waiting for the weekend, the summer, next year, and for graduation. I spent the last four years waiting for this very night and now that I am here I wish I could go back to my first day as a freshman. Spending the last few days with my classmates has been an eye-opener and I can truly say that I will miss you all.

As we near the end of our childhood and began our new adventures I couldn’t help but look back and reflect on the memories our class had. As a whole, we have experienced many sad and tragic incidents. Our high school years have been greatly affected by Covid and our joy was brought down by the death of our dear friend Laney. As I looked back I struggled to find the perfect memories to share with you all today. I didn’t want my speech to reflect only me but the entire class of 2023. After all, I didn’t get through the past four years alone. I was sent tons of memories from the last 13 years of our time in school and I figured it would be fitting to take my fellow classmates down memory lane.

Seniors take a moment and look back at your first day of elementary school. As we walked in we were greeted by teachers and the overwhelming feeling of nervousness. As we went through the day we quickly made friends and began to enjoy this strange new place. I didn’t have the privilege to attend H.O.W., but for years I’ve heard countless stories of the fun activities they got to participate in. One memory, in particular, is trades day. Students got fake money and got to prepare and buy all kinds of goodies while getting to spend the day with their friends.

Then we looked up and we were moving to Enge. As we look back at our time at Enge Washington I see days of recess, going to the big homecoming pep rally, and dressing up every Friday in a cheerleading uniform. Apparently, the most memorable part of Enge was the annual field day. We competed against other classes in running and field events. For some reason, I blocked the field day out of my memory. This was probably because I didn’t win a single time.

In the blink of an eye, we were in Middle school which seems so long ago, but when we started, it was something we were supposed to remember forever. We got to experience athletics, and honors classes, getting to join the FFA, and of course, making new friends. We were finally growing up, finally maturing, and couldn’t wait until high school. Starting out strong we got to meet Ms. Maria Baker. If you weren’t fortunate enough to have her in class she was the sweetest scariest lady you’ll ever meet. She greeted us on the first day of seventh grade by saying, “I don’t care about your feelings”. Of course, there was more to her speech, but that is the only thing that stuck with us. However, as the year went on we quickly learned that there was nothing she cared about more than her students.

Now take a deep breath, we are finally in high school but don’t breathe too hard you’ll smell the cats in Coach Sloan’s classroom. We walked through the goat into the high school and were greeted by mountains of donuts. It suddenly felt like my very first day of pre-k. For some reason that overwhelming feeling of nervousness was back but again quickly went away with the help of our wonderful teachers. We got to experience many new things like online school and of course, dissecting cats in coach Sloan’s class.

Then we were seniors. We spent our whole lives waiting for this very year and it did not disappoint. We’ve made so many memories in such a short time period that we will remember them forever. The one that tops them all has to be our version of the homecoming pep rally. We definitely made history by letting Coach Sloan Jump twice.

Graduates no matter where the road takes you after you walk across that stage, receive your diploma and throw your cap into the air. I would like to say good luck and I know you all can make a difference. I want you all to remember there is truly no place like Groesbeck High School and like Dr. Bomar says every morning “In a world where you can be anything, choose to be kind”. Thank You.

Marlee Price Valedictorian

I have been writing this speech since the sixth grade. Not on paper, but there has been a conversation with myself in my head about what I am about to say for years. It has changed, evolved and grown with me over the years, so it’s safe to say that this moment is incredibly fleeting. Some versions were sappy, some preachy, some passive, some aggressive… one was just me explaining how I’ve been an unpaid employee of Groesbeck ISD since birth. Thanks to Ms. Carroll and JP of course.

No theme felt right because how am I supposed to prepare you all for the future in a few minutes? I hope my “teaching”, nagging, and try-hardness these past four years have planted a seed that I can summarize in a few pages. I don’t want to be corny and say “Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle!” but seventh-grade me thought that quote was genius. I don’t want to be unoriginal and tell you to wear sunscreen… we have already heard that from the most incredible, influential, irreplaceable teacher.

I feel like I am qualified to tell you that nobody can send you answers to the meaning of life, you’ll have to learn it yourself, but I have no grounds to tell you what that meaning is because I have no clue. If there is anything I have learned here, it’s that you don’t put your quarterback on defense. But really what I have taken away from my time in those walls, and plan to carry into my future is that anything can be left brighter than you found it. We all have an internal sunshine that is waiting to beam to the world, but too often we allow it to become clouded by the troubles of living.

I let my inner sunbeam because my first two years of high school were so cloudy.. stagnancy had overtaken our community and our school and it felt so dreadful and sad. I knew it was going to be difficult, but the sun inside of me was begging to shine and enjoy the brightness that could be our school. I took up every leadership position I could and drafted up my three-page plan to “save the school” that I presented to Dr. Bomar the week before my junior year ended. I am so incredibly grateful for Dr. Bonnie… since I am graduating we’re on a first-name basis now right? Just kidding, just kidding. But along with her, Coach Tidwell, Mrs. Swinnea, Mrs. Black, and many other positive influences in our community I think it is safe to say our school has been much brighter.

My parting wish is that I left this brick building, whose halls I have been roaming since I could walk, brighter than I found it. Anything can be made better… more efficient… whatever it may be, but yall, improvement is something that should be expected. If the school wanted to be better, it would require much less effort than what we give. In order for our school to be brighter, it took shining a light onto the people around us, which sparked a school spirit I had never seen before.

Making things better is easy, but it requires you to try. I believe that bettering the things around us is something that should be done every day. My challenge for you all, as we take on our futures, is to brighten the world around you. This is getting very cheesy but bear with me… kindness, optimism, positivity… whatever form of joy you can put together can deeply impact the people, places, and inevitably the world around you. If you focus on the negativity and allow it to consume you, all you will see is clouds.

My mom told me that Valedictorian speeches are supposed to strictly look towards the future, but I have absolutely no idea what is to come, and after my whole ‘be the sun’ thing… I am afraid I’m out of advice. I would rather reminisce for a second… when have I ever done things the normal way? The first person I promised a shoutout to was Mrs. Truett when I was in the third grade, so it only feels right to honor her by sharing a parting piece of wisdom she wrote to me on June 5th, 2014 that said “I know at times I made you mad when I made you sit and be quiet. It was for your own good!” She also gave me an amazing year where she found a way to give me extra to keep me engaged and ahead. I have a deep love for our teachers and staff because of people like Mrs. Truett. That being said If you are looking for wisdom, find the notes your teachers left for you almost ten years ago. I am sure good ole Larry has a pile of folders waiting for me to organize that hold every life lesson possible. Maybe Jerry has the playbook of life in his office. I’ll bet our office wrote a book on how to handle the journey that life will take us on, but it’s just under a pile of tardy slips and pink passes. I’m certain our ag teachers had all of their advice in a basket, you just have to find it in Mrs. Jones’ closet. I know Mrs. Morgan could tell you how she bleeds both red and white, you would just have to sing the school song with her first. What I’m getting at is that we have so many people here just waiting to pour this wisdom into us, you just have to go and find it. Our teachers, administrators, parents, and every person in those bleachers are here to watch us succeed, but the help they’ve given is why we are here. Seek out the tools they can give, and soak up their knowledge. Take in everything you can use to make things better for yourself and others, but above anything else, use those tools to find the sun inside of yourself, so that you can make things brighter than you found them. As I have grown, I hope and pray my influence has too, especially with my littles. Whether I have known you since you were a baby, or if we just became besties I hope I have been a good role model for you to look up to. Growing up a teacher’s kid I have been to so many of these, so many speeches, and I knew I wanted to be here one day, so to my littles, I better see y’all giving this speech for years to come. Along with being motivated by seeing my favorite spellers give their address throughout the years, I have the most motivation from the woman who coached them. Momma, you are the driving force that put me here, I wanted to be at this podium because I want to be just like you. I love you and all your smartness. Thank you. Dad, you may not have been your valedictorian but you have made me wise beyond my years in maturity and (somewhat) common sense. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for both of you. In order to show my appreciation, I need a favor from the crowd. If Mrs. Price or Ms. Carroll was your teacher, please stand. If Mr. Price was your teacher please stand. If you didn’t have them as a teacher, but they have impacted your life please stand up. Lastly, if any educator or staff member at your school made a difference in your life in a meaningful way, please stand and remain standing. This is the kind of wisdom I am talking about. This is the impact that I mean. People like my parents make the world brighter. This is who we should strive to be. Thank you.