FERRIDAY — Less than 30 minutes before graduation, Ferriday High School salutatorian Kaitlyn Fletcher sat anxiously with her fellow graduates.

“I am nervous, and I am excited,” she said. “It’s a little bit of both.”

Not only was Fletcher going to walk across the stage and receive her diploma, she was also going to give a speech to her classmates and a packed football stadium full of graduates’ family and friends.

“I spent two days preparing this speech,” she said. “I just hope it turns out well.”

Fletcher and 72 other FHS seniors graduated Thursday evening, commemorating the culmination of 13 years of hard work.

“Man I am so excited. I have been waiting for this for a long time,” graduate Zu’Ranie Thompson said.

Thompson spent his senior year leading the Trojans on the football field as quarterback and said he was really going to miss his time at the school.

“It has been a good four years,” he said. “I made a lot of good friends here.”

Graduate Jerrard Cole, 18, said it felt awesome to finally be done with his high school career.

“Words cannot describe how good it feels to be done,” he said. “I have been jumping for joy all day.”

Even with all the excitement in the air, the graduates couldn’t help but thank their teachers for their efforts instructing them.

“The teachers here were amazing,” 18-year-old graduate Roeisha Sanders said. “Not just one teacher, all of them.”

The theme carried over into Fletcher’s address to the crowd, where parents, teachers and administrators were applauded for their efforts in helping the 73 graduates make to where they are today.

Fletcher continued her speech by giving advice from her heart.

“Do what makes you happy,” she said. “Don’t be miserable in any aspect of your life.”

Fletcher reminded her fellow graduates that staying positive and always remembering that doing what you love is better than settling for what you don’t enjoy is crucial to life after high school.

“Smile a lot, laugh a lot and be nice to everyone you meet,” she said as she ended her speech.

FHS valedictorian T’Keyah Fletcher also gave a speech to the crowd and her fellow classmates, reminding the graduates to take hold of life after high school

“This is our season graduates. We need to leave the nest and embrace the responsibility that is ahead of us,” she said. “We have to say goodbye to the past.

T’Keyah continued her thoughts on the future by reminding her classmates to do their best in life.

“Always continue to listen to your dreams,” she said. “They may not be what you had imagined, but you will be pleased.”