(Geronimo) – The day has finally arrived for the Navarro Senior Class of 2023. Friday night marks the annual commencement exercises for Navarro High School. Leading his class onto the stage will be this year’s Valedictorian Austin Herrod. Herrod is the son of Dustin and Ginger Herrod.
Herrod says with some encouragement from home, especially from his dad, he was able to keep his focus in the classroom.
“My freshman year I was at a different school, and I was first over there but when I first came over here, I was second at first and then at the second semester of the junior year, I got back up to first and I’ve been there since,” Herrod.
He admits that when he officially received word of his ranking, he immediately thought about the speech he’d have to write. But in the end, he says his message is simple.
“Where we are in life is very early on. We have a lot left to cover and there is going to be some things that we have to overcome as we go on and what I am going to be talking about focuses a little bit on the types of things that we will see and the way that you can use those to your advantage,” said Herrod.
Herrod will pursue an education at UTSA where he will study mechanical engineering.
Sharing the spotlight on tonight’s graduation stage will be this year’s 2023 Salutatorian Sofia Salazar. The senior is the daughter of Jorge and Jennifer Salazar.
By only focusing on doing the best she could, Salazar says appreciates the results of her hard work.
“For sure I definitely went into high school hoping to be at the top of my class to do well in class and get good grades, but I wasn’t expecting to be in like the top individuals of people. It wasn’t shocking but it was very exciting to realize that ‘oh, I’m actually doing a lot better than I thought I was’ and that I was ranked so high among my peers,” said Salazar.
Like Herrod, Salazar will also be provided the chance to share a message with her peers as they prepare to venture out on their own paths. She says her main message is to be happy and to know that each day we all can get better.
“My message to them is to look back and be happy of who you were but be happier of who you are now and to be able to look at your past mistakes and laugh at them and to really enjoy the growth that we’ve undergone these past four years,” said Salazar.
Salazar’s future has her attending the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa where she will be studying psychology, putting herself on a premed track.
Excited about introducing this batch of candidates for graduation is Navarro High School Principal Clay Scarborough. Scarborough says 161 graduates will be earning their diplomas on Friday night. He says after some very challenging years, they are each very deserving of this accomplishment.
“This is the class that went home for COVID their freshman year, so they had to overcome that. That is obviously huge. Of all the years to have it, freshman year is a rough year because of all that you have to get and look at them now,” said Scarborough.
The graduation ceremony at Navarro High School is set for 8 p.m. Friday at Erwin-Lee Stadium. Gates to the football field open at 7 p.m. A link for a livestream of the ceremony can be found on the Navarro High School Facebook page.