As the end of the school year quickly approaches, everybody at LCHS (students, teachers, and administrators alike) has summer on their mind. Students are waiting excitedly for summer break to begin, but it’s a little different for the class of 2023. The end of school this year is not just the beginning of summer break; it’s the beginning of a whole new chapter of our lives. 

Some of us are going into the workforce, others to community college, trade school, or a university. I will be attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to major in elementary education.

I would like to take a moment to thank the people who got me where I am today. First, I would like to thank my mom, who is not only my inspiration and role-model for everything within my life, but also my best friend and biggest supporter. Second, I would like to thank my dad and both of my stepparents for always believing in me and showing up to support me. Additionally, these past four years wouldn’t have been the same without my boyfriend, Carson Guldan, and my friends. These people have given me so many memories to look back on and so much to look forward to. I would also like to thank all of my teachers for getting me where I am today, and I’d like to give a special thanks to Mrs. Wallace and the rest of the journalism community for making the past three years so great. 

The summer before my sophomore year, I got an email with the title “Want to make the yearbook next year?” and so I applied. It was a spur of the moment decision. I knew basically nothing about journalism, and I had no clue who else was going to be in the class. Honestly, it’s one of the best decisions I made at LCHS. I met so many people that I never would have met had I not applied, and well, I felt like I was supposed to be there. Mrs. Wallace has now taught me for six semesters, and within that time she has encouraged me and believed in me even when I didn’t. It was her who had the idea to make me a newspaper editor this year, and I really do owe her thanks for that. Being a newspaper editor has taught me how to be a kind leader, and my success in this role has taught me that I can succeed at things that seem out of my reach. 

Although I am a newspaper editor, I’m not the only one. McKenzie Powell is my co-editor, and she is brilliant and so much fun to work with. I’m so proud of her and her accomplishments, as well as those of Emma Cubberley and Brooke Ion, our yearbook editors. The effort they put into this year’s yearbook is unmatched. They truly did a fantastic job. I also want to show my appreciation for the other members of journalism this year. I’ve loved getting to know every single one of them, and I know they’re all going great places in life. 

Finally, I would like to congratulate the entire class of 2023. By making it to graduation, every single one of us has had to overcome obstacles and maintain hard work, all of which deserves to be congratulated. 

“You’re all sorts of things you don’t even know yet.” – Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & the Six 

Love, Hadley Kembel