(PHOTOS) Central High School 2023 graduates celebrate old memories, new beginnings

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The students of Central High School’s class of 2023 might be headed down different educational and personal paths, but they will always be bonded by school pride, classroom experiences and a can of coke.

The brightly dressed class gathered at Frontier Park this afternoon for the school’s graduation ceremony, the last time all 278 of them will be in one place, said Student Speaker Kira Newcomer.

“We were lucky enough to not only share the halls of Central with each other, but also this stage,” she said during the ceremony. “I might not have known every person whose name is called today, nor will I have had significant interactions with every one of you, but we are each a patchwork quilt of every person whose has gotten to this point.”

Col. Thomas Johnson, the distinguished staff speaker for the commencement and Laramie County School District 1’s JROTC teacher, gave the class a final parting lesson.

In Johnson’s early Army Ranger training years, he stole a bottle of coke. When his instructor found out that the beloved soft drink was missing, he threatened to drop the ranger who stole it from the program. Johnson admitted to the theft and for his integrity, the instructor forgave the young ranger.

“That sergeant’s grace taught me a life lesson,” he told the graduates. “Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.”

To remind the class of 2023 to always live with integrity, Johnson provided each of them with a can of coke after the diploma ceremony.

“If you want to change the world, lead with integrity,” he said.