Four years ago — on average — the nearly 345 students sitting in the stadium Friday wandered through the doors of George Rogers Clark High School.

“Cheesy ’80s movies, awful young adult fiction, proliferating urban legends and hyperbolic tales from the then current students” fueled the weight of their expectations, GRC Class of 2019 salutatorian Sarah Kubican said in her speech at the GRCHS commencement ceremony Friday night.

“Over the years, we’ve made friends, lost them, reconciled with them and grown into those that have the potential to rely on others sincerely and to, perhaps, stand on our own,” Kubican said.

The rain held off Friday night in time for a breezy commencement ceremony for the Class of 2019. The valedictorian and salutatorian gave speeches before the students received their diplomas.

Valedictorian Corey Terrell said though they learned plenty in the classroom, they learned more about themselves during high school.

“We learned how to deal with stress, how to form relationships with those around us, how to become better people,” he said in his speech to his classmates. “The majority of knowledge gained these past four years has been useless. Sorry, Ms. Tuttle, I do not need to know everything about ‘Frankenstein,’ and Mr. Sizemore, my knowledge of the Glorious Revolution is expansive, but it will not help me much in life.

“Yet, the lessons I’ve learned in the classrooms of GRC extend far beyond the content. The important lessons are the ones of beneath the surface.”

And along with those lessons, Terrell said, they will remember the people who helped them through.

“I do not mean friends, family or other people that you will see outside of school,” he told his classmates. “I mean our teachers, the people who are willingly spending their lives inspiring and educating our youth … Every student has at least one teacher who has touched his or her heart in some way.”

Terrell also thanked the rest of the school: the lunch staff, custodians, security guards, counselors and anyone else behind the scenes making students’ dreams realities.

The graduating seniors must now venture beyond the stability of GRC’s “familiar cinder block walls.”

But they will carry their memories with them, Kubican said.

“The laughter, the tears and everything in-between,” she told her classmates.

Terrell encouraged his fellow graduates to cherish the memories made in their school years.

“Whatever your favorite memories may be, hold on to those like they’re gold,” Terrell said. “Because they are. All that we have left of high school is pictures, videos, a fancy new outfit and memories. Take these memories with you and never forget them no matter where you are going or how difficult the grind becomes.”

Terrell also said, luckily, for their generation, they can save memories on their phones and social media, telling his classmates to follow him on Instagram if they wish to keep in touch.

Kubican told her classmates she wished them all prosperous futures or at least a soft contentment on rainy days.

Terrell asked the Class of 2019 to enjoy each other’s company one last time.

“Let’s bask in the glory of our success,” he said.

Terrell went on to quote rapper Meek Mill, “I had to grind like this to shine like that.”

“We will shine with a new fancy diploma,” Terrell said. “But the grind is not over yet. The grind never stops.”

Terrell said, in ending his speech, it’s finally time to move on to the next stage in their lives.

“Whatever the future holds for you, hold with you the lessons you’ve learned,” he said. “Hold with you the memories of this place and the memories of the people who have gotten you there.

“And to the Class of 2019, Meek Mill said it best, ‘I was on my grind, and now I got what I deserve.’ We’ve been grinding for four years. Now, it is time to get what we deserve. Thank You. And let’s graduate.”

At the end of her speech, Kubican offered a simple congratulations.

“We did it,” she said.