CHS says goodbye to 71 graduates

The Custer High School graduating class of 2025 is one to remember. Out of 71 seniors, 34 received Regent Scholar Awards, 13 are part of the National Honor Society, 20 had a GPA of 4.0 or better and seven were recognized as academic award winners. Together, the class received $1,840,232 in scholarships and awards.
In Wildcat fashion, the 2025 class colors were purple, gold and black, and the class song was “Home” by Philip Philips. A tulip was designated as the class flower, which commonly symbolizes love, renewal and the beauty of life. As for the class motto, the students chose, “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”
The Custer High School Commencement Ceremony took place at the Custer Armory May 17. Brooklynn Bennett, master of ceremonies and student body president, called it a momentous occasion that would not have been possible without the support of those in attendance.
Superintendent of schools Mark Naugle echoed these sentiments, saying, “This is a big day in your life, and I hope you enjoy everything that goes with it.”
The class of 2025 valedictorian was Quinn Lewison. In her opening remarks, Lewison said, “I’d like to start by saying thank you to everyone who came to see us graduate today. It means a lot to us, and we know that you’re here today for one reason. You love us. We know you’re rooting for us, and we want you to know that we feel your love and support. Love like that is all there really is, and we will carry it with us always.”
Lewison said life for the graduates has come to a mile marker, and the road they have been traveling together is now splitting off in 71 different directions.
“Our parents and teachers have filled our tanks with the best fuel they have all so that we would be ready for this very day. But now it’s up to us to decide what direction we want to point ourselves in. We decide where we want to go and how fast we want to try to get there. Some of us are thinking the interstate, and some have a slower, more scenic route in mind. Each of our roads is ours and ours alone.
“But one thing that is true for all of us is that we can’t see what’s beyond the horizon. The only thing we can really see is what’s right here, right now. What’s in the rear view is gone forever, and we can’t yet see what’s to come. Really, all we’ll ever have is what’s right in front of us,” said Lewison.
Lewison urged her classmates to take time to experience the view around them rather than becoming fixated on what is ahead. She recommended having a map, a plan A and a plan B, while also being willing to explore side roads that were never part of the original plan.
“I hope we stay open to the idea that the detours might actually put us right where we’re supposed to be. We should also remember that some folks are carrying a load that’s heavier than it looks. Some maybe have a tire that’s a little low, or maybe they have a tail light out. Some of us maybe just really need to clean our windshield. There are potholes, storms and roadblocks waiting for all of us. We’re all going to need a little luck and some help along the way,” said Lewison.
Despite best intentions, Lewison said it is easy to get off track and end up in a ditch, but also encouraged her classmates to be understanding of those who wind up there.
“So Class of 2025, it’s time to buckle up, keep our eyes on the road and stay 10 and two on the wheel. Cheers to the road ahead and making the most of everybody. I hope your road leads you to a place that feels like home to you, and may the road long be your friend,” said Lewison.
The commencement speaker of the afternoon was former school resource officer Matt Tramp. Tramp said he remembered when these seniors were in fifth grade and described them as rambunctious, hilarious and awkward. Now, he was honored to play a part in celebrating their accomplishments.
In reflecting on what to share, Tramp considered what he wished he had understood when stepping out on his own for the first time. What came to mind was the difference between being successful and consequential. Tramp described consequential as being remarkable, noteworthy, meaningful or significant.
“While a successful life is not inherently bad, by definition, it is focused on oneself. On the other hand, a consequential life is defined as being focused on others, and does often incorporate one degree of success or another,” said Tramp.
Tramp used Kevin Parker, a professional photojournalist from South Africa, as an example. In 1993, Parker was stationed at a feeding center in Sudan during a famine where an estimated 20 people died per hour. He returned with a photograph of a vulture stalking a starving child trying to make it to the feeding center. Although Parker shooed away the bird after taking the picture, he did not help the child because of the risk of contracting disease.
Tramp said the photo is ranked number three in the list of the 100 most influential historical pictures of all time, and Parker won a Pulitzer Prize for it. It won him money, fame and notoriety. Three months after winning the Pulitzer, Parker took his own life due to the weight of everything he had witnessed and documented with that photo.
“He had what any of us would look at and say, ‘Wow, that is a successful life.’ He had the top awards for the people in his trade. He had money. He had fame. He was known throughout the photography world for what he had done at that time. Yet he was still left empty. He was still left looking for more, because success without consequence will always leave you looking, will always leave you digging for more. There’s no true fulfillment in success that is wrapped up in yourself,” said Tramp.
Tramp compared this to what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes when he said everything is vanity and like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow.
“His conclusion after chasing everything imaginable to find meaning in his life is this,” said Tramp, “‘Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.’ So he comes to this conclusion that all else is vain, that all else is just here and gone. You can look around in this room, and people who have been around for any more than a few decades recognize that because time just keeps going on faster, and faster and faster. And pretty soon, you don’t know where it went.”
After years of working as an EMT, in law enforcement, as a chaplain and as a pastor, Tramp said he has been with several people as they took their last breath. No one ever said they wished they were more successful. Instead, most people said some form of, “Love people better while you can, because that’s what has an actual consequence and leaves an actual impression among those that you are around.”
Tramp described real love using 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, saying, “Love is patient, and love is kind. Love does not envy; it does not boast. It is not arrogant. Love is not rude; it does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable, and it’s not resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love never ends.”
Tramp said the best definition of this kind of unconditional love is found in Jesus.
“We’re told that He was despised and was rejected by men, and He was well acquainted with sorrow, with grief. Despite all that, He carried our sorrows and was pierced and was crushed for our transgressions. He brought peace through the act of love and obedience on the cross to those who viewed him as an enemy. This one act of love, at great cost to Himself, is what has provided a pathway to the right relationship between us and God,” said Tramp.
Without love, Tramp said, all things are inconsequential.
“Class of 2025, never forget you’re each loved dearly. You have value that is infinite, value that is infinite, not based on your success or lack thereof. Rather, value that is based on the one who made you. You were created to be consequential, not a mere incomplete story of personal success. Go. Be successful. Go work hard and be successful, but never stop seeking to be consequential. Never stop seeking to care for and to love others well. I’ll tell you, if you love Jesus and you love and seek to serve people, you’re well on your way to being a consequential person,” said Tramp.
With those thoughts in mind, the class of 2025 walked across the stage, received their diplomas, flipped their tassels and stepped out into the world.