Emma Baxter Is Valedictorian, Kendra Betz Is Saluatorian of Grundy R-5 Class of 2019

Members of the 2019 Grundy R-5 High School graduating class received good advice from two class members during commencement exercises held Sunday afternoon at the school.
Valedictorian Emma Baxter used a numbers theme in an address to 13 fellow graduates.
“37.2 trillion cells to carry oxygen through your body. 100 billion nerves to help you pass Mr. Fox’s tests. 650 muscles to help you make that free throw or hit it out of the park. 206 bones to help support your 79 organs that together make up the one you,” she explained. “These numbers make us what we are, but they don’t make us who we are. The things that happen in our lives are what gives those numbers value. What gives us value and makes us who we are. 157,784 hours; 6,574 days and 216 months. At 18, this is how long we have been writing our story. But it’s what happens within these numbers, with this time, the things that don’t have a numerical value of their own, what you can’t measure that makes us who we are. It’s the memories and the moments, the achievements and the milestones. These are the things that have real value.”
She went on to share how moving from the many “firsts” of school through to the “lasts” have given her life more meaning and graduation is another one of those transitions that is a “big moment” and has a lot of value. Fourteen, she said, may be a small number when it comes to graduating classes, but it represents big potential.
“There are 14 individuals in this graduating class. All 14 of us have our own stories, our own things that we want to accomplish, our own goals and our own values that we treasure. Some of us are heading eight hours away for college, some of us are staying close to home. No matter what your future endeavors hold, I know all of you will do big things that hold great value. As the quote by Beau Taplin says, ‘Whoever said the small things don’t matter has never seen a match start a wildfire.’ We may be a small class but we are going out to change the world. As we move on from high school and go to college or get a job, I want you all to find value in every single day. Make a lot of memories and remember the moments. This is what you will tell your kids about.”
Salutatorian Kendra Betz used a math analogy in addressing her classmates.
“In junior high I was introduced to the concept of absolute value. I learned that absolute value is the distance a number is from zero; there are no negative numbers, just the same distance from zero, positive or negative. So, with this idea in mind, if we made the day we were born represent zero, then our age today represents our personal absolute value. In math, value simply means how big a number is, but in a person’s life, value represents so much more. It’s the memories you have made, the people you have helped and the ideas we hold closest to our heart. At the end of our lives, whatever age we are then, that is our total absolute value. We can’t decide what that number is, but we can decide what we do with it.”
She reminded the class that every day they are writing the story of their lives and graduation is closing the first story in the series of their lives.
“Last week I took off my blue corduroy FFA jacket for the last time, maybe you shot your last basket or played your last baseball game. These things have been a major part of our story for a long time, they are hard to give up, but the opportunities awaiting us are countless.”
She encouraged the class to make everyone they meet feel valuable and thanked them for helping her realize her absolute value and preparing her for what lies ahead.
“Because I know my real value, I am equipped to write the story that I want to write and so can all of you. Class of 2019, this is what makes us who we are.”
Awards were presented to the following graduates:
Caden Ashford – Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation and the A-plus Scholarship. He plans to attend North Central Missouri College to get his associate’s degree and transfer to Northwest Missouri State University to complete his bachelor’s degree.
Mayce Axtell – Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the award for being on the “A” honor roll all four quarters all four years, the Carolyn Whitney Scholarship for $250, the Galt Alumni Association Scholarship for $750, the Everett and Hazel Frey Memorial NCMC Foundation Scholarship for $500, the Murphy Memorial Trust Scholarship for $1,000 and the A-Plus Scholarship. Following graduation, she plans to attend NCMC to obtain her associate of arts degree and transfer to Northwest Missouri State to finish her bachelor’s degree in business and economics.
Morgan Axtell – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the Galt Alumni Association Scholarship for $750, the Cindy Gott Memorial Scholarship for $500, the Everett and Hazel Frey Memorial NCMC Foundation Scholarship for $500, the CTA Association Scholarship of $250, the Laredo MFA Scholarship for $2,000, the Trenton Kiwanis Club Scholarship for $500, the D. Lee Cloyed Memorial Gift for $200 and the A-Plus Scholarship. Following graduation, she plans to attend NCMC in the fall to pursue an associate’s degree, then transfer to Missouri State University to obtain a degree in speech pathology.
Emma Baxter – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the award for being on the “A” honor roll all four quarters all four years, the Freed-Hardeman University Merit Scholarship for $15,000, the Pebble Horn Memorial Scholarship for $1,200, the Cindy Gott Memorial Scholarship for $500 and the Galt Lions Club Valedictorian Scholarship for $300. Following graduation, she plans to attend Freed-Hardemen University and major in chemistry with an emphasis in bio-chemistry, then attend medical school. Upon completion of medical school, she plans to become a family physician.
Wayne Baxter – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the Freed-Hardemen University Merit Scholarship of $5,000 and the A-Plus Scholarship. Following graduation, he plans to attend Freed-Hardemen University to take courses in pre-engineering. He plans to complete his degree in engineering at the University of Missouri Science and Technology at Rolla.
Kendra Betz – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the award for being on the “A” honor roll all four quarters all four years, the Missouri State University Board of Governor’s Scholarship for $5,000, the Youth in Agriculture Scholarship for $1,500, the Cara McClellan American Family Insurance Scholarship for $500, the FCS Financial Scholarship for $1,500, the Missouri Pork Producers Youth Ambassador Scholarship for $1,000, the Pebble Horn Memorial Scholarship for $1,200, the Built Ford Tough Scholarship for $1,000 and the Galt Lions Club Salutatorian Scholarship for $100. Following graduation, she plans to attend Missouri State University to pursue a degree in agricultural business with a minor in animal science.
Kyle Bower – Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition and the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation. Following graduation, Kyle plans to attend the fire academy and then join the Trenton Fire Department.
Lucas Brill – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition and the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation. Following graduation, he plans to become an author.
Taylor Brunelle – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the Trenton Coca-Cola Scholarship for $100 and the A-Plus Scholarship. Following graduation, she plans to attend NCMC and receive her associates degree in general studies.
Gary “Lane” Kenley – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the Grand River Technical School Certificate of Completion in Industrial Welding and the A-Plus Scholarship. Following graduation, he plans to work in welding at Modine for a year and then attend NCMC to finish his associate’s degree.
Maddie Littleton – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition and the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation. Following graduation, she plans to work in the daycare industry.
Alexis McCarlson – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition and the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation. Following graduation, she plans to attend NCMC to obtain her associate’s degree.
Alissa Webb – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition, the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation, the Certificate of Completion of the Upward Bound Program, the award for being on the “A” honor roll all four quarters all four years, the Sullivan County Memorial Hospital Scholarship for $500, the Young Family NCMC Foundation Scholarship for $500, the Trenton Coca-Cola Scholarship for $100 and the A-Plus Scholarship. Following graduation, she plans to attend NCMC to complete the registered nursing program. She’ll then transfer to Missouri Western to obtain her bachelor of science in nursing degree.
Kaitlyn Wilson – the Missouri House of Representatives Certificate of Recognition and the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Graduation. Following graduation, she plans to become a police officer.