RRMR graduates: Warriors say goodbye

Seniors prepare for the next steps in their journey

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Staff report

Final farewells to high school careers were kept short and sweet for seniors at Rockford Senior High School on Sunday afternoon. Dressed in blue and silver robes, seniors were the only keynote speakers during the program, leaving words of advice and empathy for their classmates.

“(They’re) good kids, typical Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock kids,” Principal Keith Turner said after the ceremony. “They’re high achievers. Sixteen of those 42 kids earned a silver cord honor.”

Turner recognized Valedictorian Adam Staudt and salutatorian Samantha Schriever during commencement, but he also took time to recognize a deceased classmate: Allyson Brannon, who passed away in 2012 while in eighth grade.

“That’s always tough, so you always think about those really great times you had with them, but also the tough times,” Turner said. “It’s just one of those things where you watch kids pull together.”

Students in the class of 2016 also participated in some great opportunities, Turner said, including playing as a girls’ basketball state trip.

“Those are the things you always think about,” Turner said.

RRMR seniors and class officers Madelyn Paulus (vice president), Remington Sliger (secretary), Jessica Hagin (treasurer) and Fallon Marth (president) led the commencement addresses.