The Marshalltown High School (MHS) Roundhouse was filled to the brim on Sunday afternoon as 369 members of the Class of 2025 officially received their diplomas and celebrated a major life achievement during the 150th annual commencement ceremony.

After the procession, presentation of colors and singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” by the MHS National Anthem Singers, the event started on a somber note as High School Principal Justin Boliver asked the audience to observe a moment of silence in honor of two individuals who should have been walking across the stage — the late Linette Lopez and Isacc Lara Mendoza.

“Though they are not here physically, their memories remain in our hearts and our minds,” a visibly emotional Boliver said. “Let us pause for a moment of silence to remember them with love, respect and gratitude.”

The principal then jokingly thanked those in the audience for coming out to celebrate his birthday before thanking all in attendance as they witnessed “a special day” for the Class of 2025. Boliver introduced the district staff and leadership joining him on the stage before the first of the student speakers, Mia Aguinaga, came to the podium.

Aguinaga noted the unique journey that each graduate took to get to where they were on Sunday, with some beginning in other schools, states and countries. The class’s middle school experience was defined largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Aguinaga reflected on the mix of anxiety and excitement she felt upon entering high school.

“None of us could’ve known how far we would go, whether you were a speech enthusiast, a student-athlete, one of Mr. Johnson’s brussel sprouts or someone who found their place amongst new friends, we learned to navigate these experiences together,” she said. “Just as we’ve grown together, each individual has their own story full of monumental scenes, some packed with action and others quite silly, all of which have shaped who we are today.”

Aguinaga then recounted her own journey as she struggled to speak before the age of five, worrying her mother as she entered kindergarten. She used it as an example of the challenges she and her classmates endured and the strength they found to overcome them.

“Today, we are not defined by how smoothly we got here, but by the fact that we did. Today, we’ve proven what we can do, even when the odds are tough — from sending Marshalltown’s first female wrestler to state to playing pivotal roles in bringing our town together, our class has done it all,” she said. “As we leave the Roundhouse today, I ask us all to carry this message. Nothing is impossible or out of reach unless you set that narrative. You carry immense potential within, and much more than you realize. And how you decide to use it is now in your hands.”

The next speaker, Aristeo Herrera, discussed hearing the word “quit” throughout high school and how doing so could have seriously changed the long-term trajectory of his life. That led him to the story of a man who grew up poor on the streets of Mexico, dropped out of school in third grade and worked on a farm all day to provide for his family.

“I want you all to think to yourself, do you believe that this man had equal opportunity to win like everyone else, to strive and become financially stable like everyone else, to have a roof over his kids’ heads and meals to provide for them every day?” he asked. “The man in this story is Aristero Herrera Milano, my grandfather, who continues to remind me to never take what we have been blessed with for granted and continue to fight for what we want and deal with the setbacks along the way. Because when you pray for rain, you’ve got to deal with the mud too.”

He urged fellow members to take a “leap of faith” and chase their goals even if they sometimes feel the urge to slow down or quit.

“This is only the beginning of our lives. This is only one of many checkpoints that we will have to reach, but for now, we should celebrate that we have come this far to receive our diplomas. We should look ahead and continue to strive forward while continuing to remember the ones who were gone too soon, including Yanitza and Linette Lopez and Isacc and Adrian Lara, who are here with us in spirit,” Herrera said. “So 2025, I know you all have dinner reservations and probably want me to get off the stage right now, but I want you all to remember to never take opportunities given to us for granted as they fly by too quickly to circle again another time.”

He concluded with a quote from the rapper Pitbull, also known as “Mr. Worldwide” — every day above ground is a great day. Boliver then took the time to recognize graduating seniors who were members of National Honor Society (NHS), Silver Cord award winners, class officers, honor students, five honor students with the 4.0 distinction (Yasle Alviso, Kennedy Feldman, Natalie Henson, Davis Ragland and Monica Sanches), 129 Bobcat Ready graduates, 78 who have earned the Seal of Biliteracy (a record-breaking number) and all of the students who have either earned college credits while at MHS or even received a degree or certificate from Marshalltown Community College (MCC) before graduating high school.

The principal then asked all of the parents in the audience to stand and thanked them for all of their efforts in helping the graduates reach the milestone.

“You were the first teachers to these students. Each of you has provided the greatest influence in their young lives. Thank you for choosing Marshalltown and Marshalltown High School,” he said.

The next student speaker was Rubi Rios Ramirez, who urged her classmates to forge real human connections as opposed to simply living through screens.

“We weren’t made to live on ‘Do Not Disturb.’ We were made to laugh too loud at dinner, to get lost in long conversations, to sit in coffee shops and eavesdrop — come on, you know that’s fun,” she said. “We were made to experience life, not just observe it through someone else’s story. And that doesn’t mean we have to be social butterflies 24/7. I’m not saying throw your phone in a lake and start writing poetry in the woods. I’m saying balance. Take time with people. Take time to be alone, but most importantly, take time to grow.”

In conclusion, she wished graduates well as they waded into the “messy, beautiful, awkward, hilarious, heart filling” experience of real life waiting beyond a screen.

“Let’s go live some stories worth telling. No filter needed,” she said.

The final student speaker, Paige Haughey, started off with a recognition of those who helped each graduate get to this point in their lives, whether family members or teachers.

“I know that everyone here has felt like they can’t at least once. So have I. A lot. I’m sorry Mom. Everyone in my family has had to hear about it, whether it was balancing my theater with my grades or wondering why I had even challenged myself in the first place, my family was the one who sat me down and told me that I had to do it, that I can because I want to and that that is enough, that my goals are achievable because they are ahead of me and that I have worked for them,” she said. “And that pertains to everyone. This proves it, that you can achieve your goals because you want to and because you push yourself. That you can be the better version of yourself because you want to. That you can be the change in the world because you want to.”

Haughey gave a shout out to the teachers who played a role in her educational journey, including some who are no longer at Marshalltown, and asked those in the audience to feel the presence of those who were “supposed to be here.” She wrapped up by thanking the fellow students who made her feel welcome at MHS.

“When we rotate our tassels and we get to cheer with each other, high school will be in our rearview mirror. We will never be the people we were a day ago, and you may be excited or terrified or a big mix of both,” Haughey said. “But no matter what, you are being thrown into a world where you will work for what you want, whether it is in Marshalltown or somewhere else in the world. No one is holding your hand, but no one is holding you back either.”

Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) Superintendent and Class of 1981 MHS graduate Theron Schutte then addressed the Class of 2025, again thanking all of the individuals who helped the graduates along the way. He described this year’s class as “special” and thanked them for their flexibility as graduation was pushed back a week this year due to the construction of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) wing at the high school.

“This class believed, and they achieved. Your high school experience represents, and in some cases in unprecedented ways, individual, group and team accomplishments while persevering through individual and collective struggles, as some of our student speakers have mentioned, and adversity that has been faced along the way,” Schutte said. “It’s amazing to see what all this class has accomplished and how you’ve helped to bring tons of Bobcat Pride back to our school community.”

Whichever path these graduates take next, he felt confident that they had been provided with a quality education and launching point toward college, the military or the workforce.

“As you go forward today, I encourage you to be passionate about pursuing your dreams, be purposeful about pursuing excellence in whatever path you choose, and most importantly, take great pride in who you are, where you come from, what you’ve accomplished and what you set out to accomplish in the future. Dream big,” Schutte said. “Today is a celebration of you having earned a Marshalltown High School diploma. I congratulate you and I wish you continued success in your future.”

The last speaker of the afternoon before the presentation of diplomas was School Board President Sean Heitmann, who commended the Class of 2025 on reaching the milestone of graduation and asked each graduate to take a moment and think about the people who have helped them get there.

“Some of those people are here with us today. Some of those people may be far away, and some of those people have passed on. But wherever they may be, when you think of them and hold them in your heart, they’ll be right there with you,” he said.

He asked the graduates to find a way to tell those people how much they meant to them and to live their lives in ways so that someday, a future graduate of MHS will count them among those who helped them along their journey. From there, it was time for the reading of names, the conferring of diplomas, the turning of tassles, the raucous applause from the crowd and the recessional song as nearly 370 Bobcat seniors officially became Bobcat alums — a distinguished group that Boliver, who belongs to it himself, noted as he asked all of the MHS graduates in the audience to stand.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.