Class of 2023 graduates at Mendota High School

The Class of 2023 celebrated its graduation at Mendota High School on Saturday.

Students presenting speeches during the ceremony were Isabel Escatel, high honor speaker of the Class of 2023; Naitzy Garcia, president of the student council; and Karsyn Klatt, Class of 2023 president.

“All of us here were born a blank canvass waiting for artists to paint on our surface to invoke color, texture and meaning in our lives,” Escatel said. “In this illustration the artist represent everyone we’ve encountered throughout our existence. They each paint their unique brush stroke on our canvass to create a new moment and memory in our life. We are all composed with the bits and pieces people leave within us. And new parts are continuously added as we live each day. These fragments that are left by others is what makes us who we are. No one in this room is 100% original. That’s impossible, but rather the combination of little things people have shared with us throughout our journey makes each person in this room unique.”