The top graduates of GCA’s class of 2023 pose for a photo. From left, Katriel Leailang Saures, co-salutatorian; Ryan Medina Daproza, valedictorian; and Soleil Lamar, co-salutatorian.
RYAN Medina Daproza, Soleil Lamar, and Katriel Leailang Saures graduated at the top of their 13-student class at Grace Christian Academy on Friday.
Daproza, the valedictorian, attended GCA for 13 years, starting in kindergarten. He is also the school’s National Honor Society president.
Saures and Lamar were co-salutatorians. They attended GCA for nine and 10 years respectively. Lamar served as the student government president while Saures was her vice president. Both are also longtime volleyball players for the school.
“With God, our families, this school, and our friends, we are delightfully, communally cultivated,” Daproza said.
He will soon move to Guam to pursue a civil engineering degree at the University of Guam. In his farewell message, he urged his classmates to be faithful Christians:
“If we walk with God we inevitably possess the traits of a profound leader, and if we possess the traits of a profound leader, then we are comfortable with being ourselves, no longer insecure, and if we are no longer insecure then we can embrace the unknown,” Daproza said. “And if we embrace the unknown then there is truly nothing to be afraid of.”
Lamar will spend her remaining time on Saipan preparing for Annapolis, Maryland where she will attend the U.S. Naval Academy
“I’m excited but also scared for the future starting a new life, making new friends and leaving old ones behind,” Lamar told Variety. “My parents helped me throughout my high school years, just working towards that goal.”
In her address, Lamar advised her classmates to “not stay in your shell” and to “use good judgement in how you let others influence you.”
Saures is hoping that she can have a positive impact on her home community after graduation. She told Variety that she’s interested in psychology because, in her observation, there is a lack of attention to mental health on island. She wants to change that.
“Moving forward requires, of course, movement,” Saures said in her address. “It requires breaking out of our bubble of comfort and peace in order to enforce a needed change in our lives.”
Saures will be attending Northern Marianas College.
“It is time for us to embrace the change and the unknown ahead of us,” she said.
