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The graduation story, BFHS Class of 2014 |
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May 31, 2014 |
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The Bonners Ferry High School Class of 2014
graduated today at the sun-soaked high school football
field.
One hundred five students received diplomas in
the ceremony, conducted by BFHS principal Tim
Gering, and attended by Superintendent Richard
Conley and school board Trustees Ron MacDonald
and David Brinkman, and several hundreds of
community members and visitors, who filled the
home side bleachers and spilled across the
football field on lawn chairs and blankets.
Hundreds more were logged in to watch the
ceremony on the internet where it was broadcast
live on local community website Boundary County
Live.
The graduation service opened with our National
Anthem, sung by a quintet of students which
included Anika Blackmore, Kaitlin Crump, Linden
Roop, Sean Varelman, and Brook Wilson.
Five students gave short talks at the ceremony.
The guest speaker, invited by members of the
Clas of 2014, was Gina Brown, a teacher at the
high school.
Christian Trocke, Senior Class
President, spoke of how, even though high school
can be difficult and a challenge at times, the
class should look back on it as a blessing, a
place of nourishment for education and
friendship.
"Where else in life," said Trocke, "will you be
able to freely receive an education along side
with some of the best friends you'll ever have."
Gina Brown, guest speaker, told
the graduating class that happiness in life
takes a lot more than money, it takes the right
combination of a lot of things. In a way, she
said, preparing for a happy life can be compared
to cooking. The most important thing when it
comes to cooking is the quality of the
ingredients. She gave three recommended
ingredients for a happy life:
1. Find a career you love. Don't have a job you
dread going to. She quoted Jim Fox as saying
"Find a job you love, and you will never have to
work a day in your life."
2. Find the right person to spend your life
with. Stay away from people who are toxic.
"Find someone," said Brown, "who brings out the
best in you, and someone you bring out the best
in."
3. She quoted Judy Garland who said, "Always be
a first rate version of yourself, and not a
second rate version of someone else."
Happiness, she said, doesn't just happen, you
have to prepare and plan for it.
Four valedictorians gave short addresses.
Valedictorian Camille Awbrey
listed 11 things she said graduates should have
learned in the 12 years of their formal
education:
1. Respect your elders. We may not always
understand or agree with them, she said, but
they know more than we do.
2. Always keep a dollar in your pocket.
3. There is a time and a place for everything,
for both fun and to be serious.
4. Don't shush people.
5. Take responsibility for your actions.
6. Speak your mind, but do it tactfully.
7. Be yourself. You'll never regret acting real.
8. Always play dodgeball if it is an option.
9. Your music taste will change for the better
as you get older. Everything will change as you
get older, hopefully for the better.
10. Careful with swag--carry yourself with
confidence, not swag. YOLO (You Only Live
Once)--don't use this excuse to do crazy things,
instead use it to make a difference.
11. You're never too old, make every moment
count.
"In the end," said Awbrey, "there is something
that matters more than homecoming, even more
than the Pythagorean Theorem, and even more than
throwing these awkward little hats up in the
air. All that matters in life is how you live
it."
Valedictorian McKenzie MacDonald
spoke about positive things gained from having
grown up in Bonners Ferry. She said that many
her age wonder what it would have been like to
have grown up in a larger community. And
sometimes "We've all talked tough, saying how
much we wanted to get out of here, but for most
of us, Bonners Ferry means more than we often
care to admit."
MacDonald said that no matter where all the
graduates end up at, all have shared growing up
together in Bonners Ferry. The graduates will
always have one thing in common: "Bonners Ferry
is our home and it always will be. Bonners Ferry
High School only has one Class of 2014, and we
are it. To this community I would like to say
thank you for raising us."
Valedictorian Robert Swanson
spoke of how we can change the world even
through little things. He pointed out an analogy
made by Gordon B. Hinckley, who said that the
small movement made by the hinge of a farm gate
causes great movement at the other end of the
gate. Swanson used this to illustrate how by
doing small and simple things, such as helping
someone out, one can make the world a better
place.
Swanson also commented, "As you go through life,
don't forget your roots. Anyone can bleed red.
But it takes a special someone to bleed blue,
white, and silver all at once."
Valedictorian Brook Wilson said
"Graduation is the mark of the beginning of our
lives as independent adults," regardless of what
path graduates take in the future.
"I hope that in each of our futures, we find the
strength to follow what inspires us, take the
lessons life brings and learn from them, and
never lose curiosity for the world around us."
Top Ten students of the BFHS Class of 2014 are
Camille Awbrey, Anika Blackmore, Collin
Cossairt, Gabriel Fioravanti, Dalin Hubbard,
McKenzie MacDonald, Sierra Spangler, Robert
Swanson, Krista Waalkens, Brook Wilson, and
Cameron Woods.
Those same Top Ten students all graduated with
High Honors Diplomas.
Students graduating with Honors Diplomas are
Connor Bennett, Jessica Betancourt, Kylie Byars,
Collin Luther, Eamonn McCoy, Jake Perez, Joshua
Pluid, Brandy Schuman, Christian Trocke, and
Kate Wood.
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