{"id":22192,"date":"2025-05-19T16:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T16:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-students-prepare-to-embrace-the-journey\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:11:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:11:43","slug":"mancos-students-prepare-to-embrace-the-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-students-prepare-to-embrace-the-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos students prepare to \u2018embrace the journey\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Graduating
Graduating seniors Tilden Begay and Jenna Wilson process up the aisle to their seats during the Mancos High School graduation on Sunday. (Erika Alvero\/Special to TheJournal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

High school graduation might mark the end of an era, but it\u2019s just one step in a years-long journey.<\/p>\n

This was the message of Mancos staff and student speakers at the Sunday ceremony in the campus\u2019 Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll too often we focus on the end, that grand accomplishment, much like this graduation today,\u201d said social studies teacher William Custer, who was selected as this year\u2019s graduation speaker. \u201cIt was an end you all strived for and accomplished. Going forward, I encourage you all to try and shift your focus a little bit, and embrace the journey that you\u2019re soon to be on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hundreds of friends and family members crowded onto seats on the auditorium floor and bleachers along the walls to cheer on the 28 graduating seniors.<\/p>\n

\"Superintendent
Superintendent Todd Cordrey presents McKena Johnson with her diploma. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Even from his first days at Mancos three years ago, he realized this was not a \u201cnormal\u201d class, Custer said. \u201cThis class is full of students who are so focused on their future,\u201d he said. \u201cMany of them felt like they had their whole life planned out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The determination, ambition, and creativity continued to shine through to the end, he said, when students combined forces to pile every single chair from the high school\u2019s second floor into his classroom, as part of their senior prank.<\/p>\n

Custer\u2019s journey theme continued through the student speeches, as both the Mancos salutatorian and valedictorian spoke about defying others\u2019 expectations and staying true to themselves as they move forward in life. Salutatorian Sarah Knezek acknowledged that high school had not been easy for her, and at times she had struggled to find her place and fit in. The Marvel comics had provided her with solace and shown her \u201cless-than-perfect people\u201d responding to heroic challenges even though they still made mistakes.<\/p>\n

\"Social
Social Studies teacher William Custer was selected as this years graduation speaker. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mancos
Mancos High School Principal James Hughes delivers opening remarks Sunday in the Performing Arts Center. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be perfect to be the hero of your story,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can make mistakes, not fit in, and even quit. You can rely on mentors when you get lost, like I have with mine. What makes you a hero is when you stop, turn back around, decide to try again and maybe be a little better than last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spencer Eschallier said that his jocular nature made it hard for others to take him seriously as a valedictorian.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do like to joke a lot, especially at my own expense, but this time I was telling the truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This spoke to his larger message, for students not to put people in boxes \u2014 and not to let themselves be confined to the categories of others.<\/p>\n

\"Salutatorian
Salutatorian Sarah Knezek tells classmates they don\u2019t have to be perfect to be the hero of their own stories. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Valedictorian
Valedictorian Spencer Eschallier sends off his classmates, telling them not to be confined to a box after graduating. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe are all more than our first impressions, our labels, our test scores,\u201d Eschallier said. \u201cIf there is anything that high school can teach us it\u2019s that none of us fit in a box, and if we do we probably don\u2019t belong there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told his classmates that they had the ability to choose who they wanted to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one gets to write your story but you,\u201d he said. \u201cGraduation is just the end of one chapter, and the rest is yours to write.\u201d<\/p>\n

The speeches were followed by a slideshow, featuring photos of the students over the course of their lives, from elementary school Halloweens and sleepovers to high school dances. Many of the students had grown up together, and the slideshow showed their friendships flourish and continue steadily through the years.<\/p>\n

\"Principal
Principal James Hughes moves Chauncey Aspromonte\u2019s tassel from the right to the left. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Principal
Principal James Hughes moves Payton Garcia\u2019s tassel from right to left. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mancos teachers Kerisha Small and Mary Marable read students\u2019 names as they crossed the stage and received their diplomas. After students were given a bouquet of flowers, many distributed them to their family and friends before returning to their seats.<\/p>\n

In his earlier speech, Custer urged students to explore the world. However, he also asked them to remember their home in southwestern Colorado and the Mancos family gathered right there in that auditorium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage each one of you to explore the beauty that this world has to offer,\u201d he said. \u201cGo build up the community that you want elsewhere, wherever that may be. But always remember that when you need a home, when you need a community, you need a sense of belonging, you have one right here in Mancos.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commencement celebrates students\u2019 determination and purpose<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77609,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22192\/revisions\/77609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22192"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=22192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}