Warren Central High School held its graduation ceremony for the class of 2023 on Thursday evening at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Friends and family gathered at the VCC to watch 231 graduates receive their diplomas.

The salutatorian and valedictorian each had a chance to speak during the ceremony. In his address to the graduating class, salutatorian Mateo Byrd spoke about the meaningful relationships he made throughout high school.

“High school is about the people you learn with, sing with, compete with and triumph with. It’s about the people who laugh with you, pray with you, and cry with you. It’s about the people who will stand with you,” Byrd said. “In another sense, for me, it’s about all of you, because without y’all, our school is just a bunch of bricks that’s still being put together.”

Valedictorian Chaney Parman then had her turn to speak, urging her classmates to remember their time together at Warren Central.

“Today is the day. Today is the day that we, the class of 2023, depart from the school that has molded us into who we are today. Today is the day that we cross the finish line. But today is also the day that we begin our true journey,” Parman said. “Today is the day that we walk across this very stage and leave the path behind us. Or not. The beautiful aspect of there being a today is that several yesterdays brought us to this very moment. Let us not forget those yesterdays.”

Kimble Slaton, president of the Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees then addressed the audience and mentioned some statistics.

“This group of 231 graduates has taken 2,352 semester hours of college coursework, which when multiplied by the Department of Education statistics for the college tuition, has saved their families $2.26 million, earning on average 10.2 college credits per student,” Slaton said.

He followed with some words of encouragement by quoting famed NCAA basketball coach John Wooden.

“Coach Wooden said that ‘If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.’ So to our graduates, I say ‘Go for it.’ Be a doer,” Slaton said. “Make mistakes but own them. Learn from them and keep doing. We will be here rooting for you.”