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Editor’s note: The Tyler Morning Telegraph is taking a look back at tylerpaper.com’s five most-viewed photo galleries of the year. The second-most viewed gallery was this collection from graduation night at Tyler High.

More than 400 Tyler High School graduates closed the chapter of their high school careers on Friday night.

The Class of 2022, which consists of 423 total graduates, and their loved ones gathered at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium for the commencement ceremony.

Kyla Alyse Daye is this year’s valedictorian and Emma Yareli Arteaga is the salutatorian.

“We made it,” Arteaga told her fellow graduates. “Years of hard work and dedication brought you here. Your efforts speak volumes and you should be extremely proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

Daye also congratulated her fellow peers, noting they have all accomplished “one of the first significant milestones” of their lives.

“This milestone marks a completion of a chapter, a chapter with numerous experiences and stories that help to define us and future chapters in our lives,” Daye said. “We started this chapter four years ago and it’s hard to believe it has come to an end … Tonight is the night where the path we have traveled together ends and we each begin our individual chapter, we will embark on 450 unique roads and different paths to success.”

Click here for more Smith County area graduation coverage, including photos and senior spotlight feature stories.

As she looked among her peers in the crowd, Daye said she sees healthcare workers, engineers, entrepreneurs, social media influencers and a variety of other future professionals. No matter what path they choose, she encouraged each of her classmates to take their own individual path.

“Pick up your pen and write your own story,” she said.

In completion of their senior career, the 2022 class received $3.9 million in college scholarships.