OREM — Timpanogos High School set 359 of its Timber Wolves free to enter the "real world" May 30.
"The strength of the wolf is in the pack, but the strength of the pack is in the wolf," said Malia Burrows, a graduating senior who spoke at commencement. "As graduating Timpanogos Timber Wolves, let's make a difference."
One person can make a difference in the world, Burrows said, and "one multiplied by all of us will definitely make a difference."
The students who spoke at the graduation ceremony, like Burrows, were selected from the top 5 percent of their class. The school did not have any valedictorians but received $1.7 million in scholarships for its students.
"Today is a day to celebrate our education, not a day to end our education," said Ben Hartshorn, who also spoke at the commencement exercises.
Hartshorn urged graduates to continue learning by keeping up on current events, reading books or taking classes.
Graduates may be going into a "real big, real scary, real world" after graduation, but Hartshorn assured them they will do just fine.
"Each of us now has the chance to change the world any way we choose," he said.
Lindsay Farnworth, 18, gave a tribute to the parents who ushered their students through the perils of high school.
As is tradition at Timpanogos High School, the seniors nominated one of their peers to represent them at graduation as the "most inspirational senior." This year's senior, Justin Benson, sang a spine-chilling opera solo.
"There may have been times when we have fallen short," he said, "but we picked ourselves up and moved on."
"What would we have done without our parents?" she asked. "They picked us up when we were down, cheered us on from the sidelines, saw us through our ups and downs and no matter what we did, they loved us."
Farnworth's mother was a teacher at Timpanogos High School until she lost a battle with colon cancer. The crowd of nearly 2,000 stood to honor the former teacher when Principal Brad Kendall tearfully awarded Pam Farnworth with the school's "Outstanding Service Award."
Kendall told students to stick to their principles — hard work, integrity, team work and a commitment to excellence.
"Stay with these principles and you will be successful in anything you attempt in your lives," he said.
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