Celebrating Those Who Made the Difference

by Molly Hamilton, Class of 2026 Salutatorian, Eastside Catholic School

I am honored to speak here today. I have been at EC since sixth grade, so it feels like a full-circle moment to be standing here as a graduating senior.

I want to thank all the teachers who made this experience meaningful and fun. A special shoutout to Dr. Bob, Mr. Fletcher, TMAC, Mr. Malleta, Mrs. Dingler, Dr. Tesfay, Mr. Henderson, Ms. B and many more. I am so grateful for the way they made their classrooms engaging and helped make challenging material easier to understand.

I also want to thank my family for always supporting me. Whether it was finding me a tutor when I needed one, helping me with homework or studying for tests, they were always there for me.

Finally, I want to thank my lacrosse team for all the amazing memories over the past four years and for our state championship this season. There couldn't have been a better way to end my senior year.

Looking back on high school, what I'm going to miss most is this team. Thank you to all my teammates for the laughs, memories, wins and losses. And thank you to Coach Alex, Erin and C-Dawg for making it all possible and for helping me grow not only as a player but also as a person.

I know I will carry the lessons I've learned from this team with me throughout college and into adulthood.