Salutatorian Halyee Hoffman's 2015 graduation speech

Salutatorian Haylee Hoffman had the following to say:

Class of 2015, time flew by so fast, and we are now anxiously waiting for that diploma. Congratulations on your achievements and hard work. Like the great rapper Drake once said, "Started from the bottom, now we here."

I would like to take this time and thank everyone in the gymnasium today for coming and celebrating the class of 2015. We owe a lot of gratitude to all of you.

To our present and past teachers, thank you for sharing your time, talent and knowledge with us. Yes, we know it was your job to do it, but you went beyond the call of duty to help us. You took the time to explain assignments, sometimes even twice. You allowed us to come to your classroom after school or early in the morning for extra help when you could have gone home to spend time with your family or could have gotten that extra hour of sleep in the morning. You put in the effort to make lessons more interesting so we wouldn't just tune out. You demanded excellence from us whether or not we demanded excellence from ourselves. You set the bar high and challenged us to live up to it.

To our coaches, thank you for making school about more than just classwork. You have taught us how to power through adversity and to always give it our best effort. We learned the importance of discipline and good sportsmanship from you.

To our custodial staff and lunchroom attendants, thank you for keeping our school clean and safe. You know better than anyone else what slobs we've been. You guys actually deserve some kind of medal.

To our principal, and all the office staff, thank you for keeping things running smoothly, and always having an open door for us.

To our parents, thank you for supporting us in more ways than it's possible to count. You dragged us out of bed each morning, made sure we were fed and clothed for school. Before we could drive you made sure we got to the bus stop safely and on time or you drove us to school yourselves. You helped us with homework, while listening to us complain about how much homework our teachers gave us that night. You came to our concerts and plays, attended our sporting events, and a few of you even chaperoned our dances. You've listened to us about our daily dramas, but given us enough space to learn how to work things out for ourselves. This is just a small list of the thousands of ways you've supported us on this journey.

Lastly, I would like to thank each and every one of my classmates. Although we are one of the smallest classes to graduate from Hot Springs County High School, we are mighty. As a class we have accomplished so much throughout these past four years, which we will later look back on. This may be the last that time that all 34 of us are together, but we will have a bond that lasts a lifetime. I would hope that as a class we strive to never stop learning. Take time to learn about things that interest you. Learn how to dance, or grow your own garden, or even learn how to speak Russian fluently. Class of 2015, I also hope that we strive to be the best we can be, while also making other people's lives better. You could send money to organizations that assist people you will never meet. Those people need our help, but so do our neighbors, people in our communities, and maybe even some of the people here in this gymnasium. Find someone who needs a skill or resource that you possess and give it freely. It could be as simple as mowing the elderly lady's lawn down the street or volunteering as a mentor for a child who needs someone to look up to. This could seem small to you, but your gesture of kindness and helpfulness could mean the world to someone else. And finally thank you for all the memories and laughter shared throughout the years. I wish all of you the best and can't wait to see where life takes us.

Oh, and one last thing, if the class of 2015, could please stand up.

"HEY GRADUATES, HOW DO WE FEEL!?"

"WE FEEL GOOD, OH WE FEEL SO GOOD!"