(Dubois, WY) – Friends and family members gathered in the Dubois High School gym this past Sunday, May 25, to celebrate the graduating Class of 2025.
The graduates were led into the gym by members of the Dubois Girl Scout Troop #1204, who presented the colors during the opening processional, followed by a rendition of the National Anthem by Daisy Burnett.
Following comments from Superintendent Steve Splichal and Principal Tad Romsa, Salutatorian Bell Norris and Valedictorian Jonah Witonski spoke to their fellow graduates.
“Dubois K-12 has become so much more than a building of classrooms and long hallways. These walls have witnessed my growing pains, my proudest moments, my laughter, my tears, and so, so many friendships,” Norris shared. “…It’s become my second home throughout these long, tiresome 15 years.”
“Today we stand on the edge of something new, and while it’s easy to feel nervous about our futures, I want to remind us all we’ve already proven we know how to take our first steps,” Norris continued. “We did it once before, we can certainly do it again.”
“What does success look like?” Witonski asked during his address. “We’ve been taught that success is loud and obvious; something that can be seen, measured, ranked and posted about. But today, I want to challenge that. The truth is, success isn’t defined by a single person. It’s not about how many followers you may have or how quickly you climb a ladder you never wanted to be on it from place.
“Real success? That’s personal. Most of the time, it’s quiet. It’s choosing a path that aligns with your values, not someone else’s expectations. It’s having the courage to say, this matters to me, even if no one else is clapping. …Because success isn’t just about arriving somewhere impressive. It’s about becoming someone authentic along the way. It’s choosing to wake up each day and moving toward something meaningful, even when that something doesn’t come with a paycheck or a trophy. It is taking small steps in the journey we call life.”
After the student speeches, commencement speaker Brandon Lee White took to the podium.
White is a youth motivational speaker who has appeared on TLC, Discovery, Health, Fit TV, TedX, and even Wheel of Fortune.
Each graduate was gifted with White’s book “Own It,” but he also gave them a “second gift.”
“…The second gift I want to give you was not so much a gift. It’s your final test. You see, as I travel the country, I notice a lot of students sometimes struggle with confidence. I’m sure our graduating classroom is full of confidence, but I believe it’s so important as they go out into life and they go into job interviews and so forth, that they introduce themselves with confidence and they give a proper handshake.”
White then brought up Jeremiah Rosendahl after some prompting from his fellow peers, and gave him tips on how to introduce himself with confidence.
After White shared more advice with the graduates, and a slideshow presentation from Bell Norris, it was officially time for the awarding of the diplomas.
Your Dubois High School Class of 2025 included: Sammie Cyrus, Cierra Gross, Thad Hawkes, Noah Hawkins, Siler Hess, Nate Hinkle, Logan Miller, Elise Nguyen, Bell Norris, Payson Pluhar, Jeremiah Rosendahl, and Jonah Witonski.
Class Colors
Deep Purple
Class Flower
Decorative Kale
Class Song
‘Young Folks’ by Peter Bjorn and John
Class Motto
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”
Congratulations, Class of 2025!