By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Marion high school seniors are headed far and wide to take the next steps in their lives.

Commencement ceremony will be 4 p.m. Saturday at the Sports and Aquatics Center.

Christopher Beery

Marion senior Christopher Beery is the likely valedictorian for the class of 2023.

He’s been an athlete, a scholastic honor student, and a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He’s participated in cross country, basketball, and track and is a member of the National Honor Society.

His favorite classes were woodworking, especially when using computer aided machines, and science.

“It is always fascinating learning why things happen,” Christopher said.

He plans to attend Kansas State University and seek a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in business administration.

He looks for a career involving power generation and wind turbines.

He’s only slightly nervous about stepping into his next stage of life.

He’s thankful for his parents and his English and math teachers for helping him get where he is.

He is the son of Lesli and Joe Beery.

Sadie Lange

The likely salutatorian for the class of 2023 is Sadie Lange, who has excelled in performance arts.

Her favorite subject was English. She likes the logic of language and grammar.

“It’s actually what I plan to major in when I go to K-State,” Sadie said.

She’s also been involved in Marion High Singers, the art club, scholars bowl, and forensic and drama presentations. When she’s not doing that, she’s a manager for the cross country team and track and field programs

After getting a degree in English, Sadie plans to attend law school. She already has been accepted into an accelerated program that allows students to take the first three years of undergraduate studies at KSU before transferring to the University of Kansas, where they complete their bachelor’s degree and work on their law degree, finishing in six years.

Her plan is to become a human rights attorney, but that work is usually pro-bono.

She envisions practicing immigration law for bread and butter.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I feel a little nervous, but I worked really hard in school to get here, and I’m looking forward to the rest of my life.”

Sadie is thankful for the support of her parents, Dani and Jeremiah Lange, who always encouraged her to do her best in everything she did.

Arwen Fay

Arwen Fay’s plans for college will take her the farthest from Marion.

She’ll be headed to Minnesota to attend St. Benedict and St. John University, where she will major in psychology.

She has family in Minnesota, she said.

“I knew I wanted to go to college out of state,” she said. “I don’t especially love Kansas.”

She does love traveling.

After working her way to a Ph.D., she wants to be a psychologist.

She hasn’t decided which school to go to for her graduate degrees.

Her favorite high school classes were algebra, advanced art, and choir.

She has been a member of volleyball, basketball, and softball teams, Marion High Singers, and Key Club.

“I feel like I should come back here next year, or I could go out and get a job right now,” she said. “I can do anything I want to now that I’ve finished school.”

Her parents, Heather and Paul Fay, were her biggest supporters, she said.

“They’ve just pushed me to be my best,” Arwen said.