MONTEREY, La. –&160;With minutes to go before the procession into the Monterey High gym, one Monterey senior worried about his hat falling off, while another wondered what to do with her keys.

But there would be no other worries as 33 seniors became graduates less than an hour later.

Senior Larry Jones welcomed parents and friends before salutatorian Leah McKnight told the gathering to &uot;believe in themselves.&uot;

&uot;We’ve attained something nobody can take away from us,&uot; McKnight said. &uot;By believing in us, you made us believe in ourselves.&160;This is our first baby steps to adult life.&uot;

McKnight finished by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem on &uot;What is Success.&uot;

Valedictorian Julie Clark told fellow classmates to &uot;look toward the future.&uot;

&uot;I&160;know most of you are expecting to talk about how sad it is to be leaving,&uot; Clark said. &uot;But I’m looking forward to the future.&uot;

Clark finished her speech by reminding classmates, &uot;that if one door closes, another will open.&uot;

Concordia Parish Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman, who was principal at Monterey from 1989-92, presented the diplomas.

McKnight received the Guy Bairnsfather Memorial Scholarship, O.R. Rhodes Memorial Scholarship, Jennifer Bostic Memorial Scholarship, Regents’ Scholar Certificate of Recognition, and an academic scholarship to University of Louisiana-Monroe. Clark got the Regents’ Scholar Certificate of Recognition, CAP Scholarship, FBLA Scholarship, Beta Club Scholarship and a scholarship to Louisiana College. April Woodruff received the Scott Truck & Tractor Scholarship,&160;Ben Green Memorial Scholarship and Conn Memorial Scholarship. Shannon Philley got the Jennifer Bostic Memorial Scholarship and P.T.O. Scholarship. Lynn Paul got the Diario del Lobo Scholarship, while Tanisha Evans got a Regents’ Scholar Certificate of Recognition.