The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
Sunday afternoon, parents and friends and faculty watched fifty one seniors shift their tassels to the right, and celebrate their completion of twelve plus years of education at the primary and secondary levels.
Now, these students may make choices of their own on their "Pursuit of Happiness" and hopefully success in this world.
Salutatorian, Vice President of the Student Council, Honor Society Member, Justin Allaman spoke to his classmates: "A lot of things are going to change pretty soon."..... "Before long, we'll be known as Mr. So-and-So, or Mrs. What's-Her-Name, or maybe even "Dr. Whoever."
Justin reminded graduates "There is more to life than dodging detentions, sports stats, Facebook friends, or even acing the A.C.T. When someone meets you in the future," he said, "the first thing they ask you won't be how many A's you received or how many boys or girlfriends you accumulated over the years. Justin told classmates, "They will want to know about you!-your personality traits, your likes, your dislikes."
Justin said "learning things like the Pythagorean Theorem, Boyle's Law of Ideal Gases, and the M.L.A. Guidelines for writing essays are important," but he questioned if they were more important "Than learning how to make friends, how to deal with something even when you weren't happy with it, or how to get along civilly with someone you wished you'd never see again?"
He said, "What those standardized tests don't tell you is your character, your work ethic, your integrity-things that really matter."
Justin encouraged classmates to thank at least three teachers, and Supt. Grimm, Mr. Geiser, and school board members for helping them get this far, as well as thanking their parents for feeding, clothing, and carting them around and finally, he said, "Thank God for each and every breath you take."
Harvard bound Miriam Rutzen spoke after she earned Valedictorian honors. Miriam, Student Council President, National Honor Society member, told her peers that, "sometimes we are so concentrated on getting out that we forget all that entails. We forget how privileged our lives have really been up to this point. Five days a week we were guaranteed a meal, transportation, some education (depending on how we handled it), some physical recreation, and many socializing opportunities. Every year we were given a teacher who cared about us; someone who was willing to push us and make us better."
Miriam reminded students that "We had it pretty good until now! We are going to find that very few people are going to be willing to hold our hands and lead us through.
"Many things we work for and try to achieve, we will have to do on our own-starting from the bottom (again!) and working our way up."
She left classmates with five things she called "Stepping Stones" to help them:
#1-HAVE FUN.
#2-STAY ON THE POSITVE PATH.
#3-STAY FOCUSED SET GOALS
#4-You are who you are today and where you are today because of the people you surround yourself with.
#5-"Remember yesterday, dream for tomorrow, live for today."
Live for today. Tell your loved ones in your life how much you love them. Treasure the wisdom and knowledge of those later on in years.
Play with your siblings or cousins. Joke around with your parents. Go out on a picnic with your friends. Because who knows if we will get to see tomorrow; who knows how long we have on this earth.
So cherish it. Cherish every moment you have and make the best of it. Don't put off for tomorrow what you could do today. Live for today-live for now.
Top Ten Graduates In The Class of 2009
The top ten scholars in the Class of 2009 have achieved the highest grade point averages in their class over the course of their high school experience. They are listed in alphabetical order:
Justin Allaman, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Allaman.
Ashley Coffey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Merle Coffey.
Lauren Gerst, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gerst.
Julianna Gillam, daughter of Mrs. Debbie Gillam and Mr. Rusty Gillam.
Benjamin Hawk, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hawk.
Morgan Hubbard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Hubbard.
Kristin Plath, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Randy Plath.
Miriam Rutzen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Rutzen.
Rachel Sams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Doug Sams.
Drue Waterman, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Waterman.
The students were congratulated for the outstanding academic effort each has put forth during their school time at West Central High School.
Salutatorian - Justin Allaman
Valedictorian - Miriam Rutzen