Families and friends filled the Tacoma Dome June 7 as South Kitsap High School held its graduation ceremony for the Class of 2025.

Cheers and applause erupted inside the arena as students crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. The ceremony featured speeches from valedictorians, Jefferson Smith, Taylor Abundis, Shanna Hellewell and Aliya Fager, each offering reflections on the journey through high school and words of encouragement for the future.

“Think about what this moment means to you,” Smith said. “Maybe you’ve been eagerly waiting for this chapter, maybe you’re plunging into the unknown with a bit of nerves, or maybe just trying to stay awake in the back. Regardless, take a look around and don’t stop today, look around tomorrow too, and every day after.”

Smith encouraged his classmates to embrace the beauty of the human experience and to “cling on to every bit of kindness you see and turn it tenfold.”

Abundis shared a candid message about uncertainty and self-discovery.

“The truth is, aside from the letter on my report cards, my high school experience was pretty average,” Abundis said. “You might think that being up here, I must be pursuing a great career or going to a great college like my fellow valedictorians, but on the contrary, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Abundis urged graduates to seek their own happiness and passions rather than rushing into decisions based on external pressures, referencing a conversation with a mentor: “We only get one life, and a wise man once asked me, ‘What are you saving it for?’”

Hellewell compared life to a story in progress.

“We are holding the pencil,” she said. “Maybe for now we have simply been going along with a plot that’s already written, but now it is our time, we are in charge of the rest of our stories. Maybe you’re scared of messing up, I know I am, but that is what the eraser is for.”

Fager offered a theatrical metaphor for the next chapter ahead.

“The play that is our lives has finally set into motion,” she said. “We have rehearsed, prepared and worked hard to put on the Act 1 performance that is our high school career. Now is the time to reflect during this brief intermission. Act 2 is on the horizon.”

Quoting Kermit the Frog, Fager added: “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.”

SK principal Dave Goodwin praised the class for its collective talent and individuality.

“There is so much talent in this group, and this is something that you don’t always see in this volume,” Goodwin said. “Graduates, this is a big day. Yes, it’s a milestone, as you’ve heard, it’s equal parts exciting and terrifying, and that’s normal.”

Goodwin reminded students that although they are moving forward independently, they are never truly alone.

“Since kindergarten, you’ve been asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’” he said. “Maybe the better question is not what you want to be, but who you want to be. What kind of person do you want to become? How do you want to be known?”