GALT, CA (MPG) - The Galt High School Class of 2024 celebrated four years of hard work on June 5 during the school’s graduation ceremony.

Opening the celebration at Erv Hatzenbuhler Field, Galt High Principal Kellie Beck noted that this is the last cohort of students whose high school education was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic; their freshman year in 2020 began with a semester of remote learning.

“And so there are so many lessons and so many challenging and unpredictable times,” Beck said. “It’s most important to not take things for granted in the time that you have. Time is a gift and it has been a gift to give you my time, all of these wonderful kids before me. I really look forward to seeing what the future holds for all of you.”

Seniors Josh Cullers and Camilla Gonzalez Castro welcomed the families of graduates in English and Spanish, respectively.

Cullers said family members had as much reason to celebrate as the students.

“The time has come for us to start our crazy race called life but it’s all of you who have gotten us to the starting line, fitted with the shoes of your teaching, to run out and achieve greatness,” Cullers said.

Gonzalez Castro said her classmates’ presence at graduation showed that they were on the right path. When she paused partway through her speech, the audience encouraged her with applause. She continued her speech, thanking staff, family and friends who helped students become the best version of themselves.

Salutatorian Yocelin Sanchez Reyes encouraged her classmates to face the future head-on.

“For those of you who want to further yourself, whether starting a 9-to-5 job right after high school, going to college or going into a trade, you need to give it all you have,” Sanchez Reyes said. She called parents “pillars and supporting beams” for the children, saying her mother “taught me that there is an opportunity in everything if you look at things in a positive light.”

The school recognized several students for athletic and academic achievement, as well as their contributions to the school community.

Akayla-Joy Gunter and Aiden Hall were named as the Scholar Athletes of the Year, who make a “profound difference” in their sports and earn a grade point average in the top 10% of their class.

Hope Garten was named the Female Athlete of the Year. For the first time, the school had two Male Athletes of the Year: Kayson Jones and Miguel Corona Garcia.

Galt High staff honored nine students with the Red and White Warrior G Award for exemplifying kindness, bravery, honesty and compassion for others: Jones, Zavion Mitchell, Daniel Magana, Alexa Murillo Cuevas, Natalee Gubac, Dylan Cowey, Maria Perez, Jeffrey Su and Hector Valenzuela.

In valedictorian Victoria Granados’ speech, she looked to the many changes she and classmates would face after high school.

“It’s time to accept that we now have to take charge of our lives,” Granados said. “All our routines for the past four years are over and now will look drastically different. We are going to have to establish new ones, ones with newfound responsibilities.”

Granados told the graduates to explore and try new things.

“You don’t have to get it right the first time. I encourage you not to settle for something just because you think you have to stick with the first thing you find,” Granados said, adding that leaving one’s comfort zone is “the only way you will keep growing.”

Granados concluded with a call to action.

“As you leave tonight, know that you are ready to take this next step in stride,” the valedictorian said. “Let everyone outside these gates know what Galt can bring to this world.”