Because of its size, 12 students, Orrick’s 2024 high school graduating class seemed more like a family than a group of students, according to Natasha Hicks. Hicks and her scholastic siblings bid one another farewell Sunday afternoon with a commencement ceremony in the Orrick High School gym. For Hicks, saying goodbye was difficult. During her short Latin Honor student speech, she became overcome with emotion. “I am grateful to have been part of this class and this atmosphere,” she said, fighting through tears. “We’ve seen many people come and go. That’s pretty obvious – … (we’re down to) 12. But I couldn’t be more pleased with these 12.” Hicks, who plans to attend MCC-Maple Woods in Kansas City and then attend a four-year college or university to prepare for a career in dietetics/physical therapy, didn’t expect to get emotional. “I wrote it (speech) a couple days before it had to be presented,” she said afterward. “And I was like, ‘This is going to be so easy for me to talk,’ and…