Kelsey McGuire tailored her Triton Central graduation day speech to the ideal of “living in the moment.”

The Triton Central High School Class of 2022 salutatorian stayed very much in the moment as her educational track stiffened year by year.

“I will say I am not naturally smart,” said McGuire. “I have to work at it.

“I’m the kid that will study two hours the night before a test. I never not get a homework assignment done. I stay after school all the time to get extra help.”

Realizing what it took for her to succeed helped McGuire move up two spots in her graduating class from her initial freshman ranking of No. 4.

In other words, she stayed in the moment despite being involved in numerous club and service activities at Triton Central as well as athletics (four years of tennis, two years of basketball).

“I feel like a lot of people focus on social media and having to post everything and feeling like they have to put on a façade,” said McGuire. “I want people to live in the moment. You don’t have to post everything … have memories for you.”

McGuire’s hard work and love for children is taking her to Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, to study Nursing with the goal of being a pediatric or NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) nurse.

“It’s a great campus and I love the people,” she said. “I really wanted smaller classes and I’m a person that likes to engage with teachers.

“I knew I wanted to be somewhat close to home so I wanted to be in state. And they start (nursing) clinicals their sophomore year so I get a lot more experience. I felt like I was home.”

The daughter of Darrin and Shannon McGuire, Kelsey has already completed a hospital internship program, working in a maternity ward.

“I loved it,” she said of the experience.

McGuire will be rooming at Indiana Wesleyan with a Shelbyville graduate who is a sophomore in the Nursing program. That will leave her in good hands as her best friends move on from Triton Central, including class valedictorian Julia Sanders, who won’t be so far away at IU Kokomo.

“I am nervous I won’t have Jules. We were inseparable during high school,” said McGuire. “You can ask the teachers, if you saw one of us, you saw both of us. We were always partners in everything. It will be different doing school without her to lean on.”

(This is the second in a 10-part series highlighting the Class of 2022 valedictorians and salutatorians from the five Shelby County high schools.)