WHS Grads Rejoice

Twenty WHS

Graduates

Honored By

School Staff, Friends, Family W

AITSBURG - Ten girls and 10 boys earned standing ovations, cheers and plenty of scholarship money during the 116th commencement at Waitsburg High School last Friday.

The seniors marched into the gym in full caps, gowns, stoles and brightly colored cords to cheerful, upbeat music played by the high school band.

Families were treated to a special slideshow of photos of the graduates throughout their lives bringing back happy memories and plenty of tears. Speeches by four seniors made the crowd laugh loudly and made those in attendance nostalgic for the days that have passed too quickly.

The graduating class motto, written by William Arthur Ward, was simple and encouraging: "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it."

The class valedictorian Kayla Huxoll was the first to present her speech and she honored the great moments of the class' high school careers and told the audience her classmates are surely to succeed.

"Our class is special," Huxoll said. "We all have dreams big and small and we have the ability to make those dreams a reality."

Huxoll said when the class of 2012 was younger, they dreamed of becoming astronauts and princesses when they grow up. Now, they dream of jobs like nursing or even being a coroner.

Though the dreams change over time, Huxoll said she and her classmates will always be setting their sights high.

"The key is - we will never stop dreaming," she said.

Salutatorian Zach Bartlow talked about how much it meant to him to attend a small school.

"Some would think it would be boring to go to a school so small," Bartlow said. "But a tiny school is special."

Bartlow said he and his classmates have been able to get to know one another and added that the class of 2012 is "one of the most tightly knit groups that has come through our school."

When the group was younger, they didn't know what to expect as they moved through high school. But, he said he is proud of his classmates and what they have accomplished together.

"All of us have worked hard in class and have been successful academically."

Not only has the group performed well in the classroom, as evidenced by the large amount of scholarships received by the graduates, but also in community service and school pride.

"We step up when everybody else steps down," Bartlow said.

Senior Jessica Guay was chosen by the faculty to be the class speaker at graduation. Her message was that she and her classmates are ready to push the limits.

"We are ready for our future," Guay said. "We are ready to succeed."

The speaker chosen by the graduates was Ronnie Hulce who presented a comical speech on class pranks that frustrated teachers and wielded consequences.

"It was totally worth it," Hulce said. "We would do it again in a heartbeat."

And Hulce left the class of 2013 with a challenge.

"It's up to the next class to step into our shoes and take over this place," Hulce said.

Honor Graduates (3.25 GPA or higher):

Fletcher Baker

Zach Bartlow

Taylor Doepker

Jessica Guay

Kayla Huxoll

Dustin Wooderchak

Dionna Baker

Ronnie Hulce

Amanda Cook

2012 WHS Class Earned More Than $42,000 In ScholaRship Money Way To Go Grads!

Class Motto: "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it" By William Arthur Ward