Class of 2019 celebrates graduation

Wrangell High School was packed with students, family, and friends of the class of 2019 last Friday night. Another school year had come to a close, and so had the high school careers of 16 seniors. The school's commons was filled with poster boards covered in pictures of the graduating students, and the gym was decorated in school colors and filled with extra seating.

The commencement began rather traditionally, as most high school graduations do. The students walked out onto the stage to "Pomp & Circumstance," performed by the high school band. After that, there was the salutatorian and valedictorian addresses. The class of 2019 had two salutatorians: Abigail Armstrong and Kellan Eagle; and two valedictorians Helen Decker and Jean-Luc Lewis.

"I would like to thank all of our parents, grand parents, extended family, and friends here tonight," Armstrong said, welcoming everyone to the ceremony.

Eagle also extended his thanks to the school faculty during his speech for "putting up with our class for the past 15 years." He thanked the custodial staff for their hard work, the teachers for giving all their time to educating his class, and other staff members for their assistance when it came to scholarships, college applications, or day-to-day activities in the school.

Lewis's speech was very comedic, with wisecracks interspersed between heartfelt thanks to his family and school. He shared fond, and funny memories of his time at Wrangell High School. From freshman year to graduation, he said that he and the whole class had an amazing experience.

"The date was August 28, 2013, and on this day 10 girls and 12 prepubescent boys walked through the doors of Wrangell High School," he said. "The first days were filled with euphoria, and body odor. But as the days passed our grades, just like our voices, dropped."

Decker's speech was funny like Lewis's, and equally heartfelt. She spoke about how her class had benefited from Wrangell's strong sense of community, and all the support they had received inside and outside of the school. She also gave special thanks to her grandparents, who flew in from Michigan to attend the graduation ceremony. While Decker said that she and her class all had amazing futures to look forward to, graduation was a period of things ending as well as beginning.

"There have so many 'lasts' lately," she said. "Last prom, last basketball games, last classes, last pranks, but these 'lasts' have only made me appreciate my time at Wrangell High School even more."

The commencement address was given by Secretary Megan Powell. Her speech was similar to all the others that preceded it. She thanked the community for coming out and showing support to these graduates. She also talked about how the class of 2019 was going to to do amazing things with their post-high school lives, and how she will miss them.

"These 16 graduating students before you tonight have graced my life with their presence for the last four years," Powell said. "I began working as a secretary for Wrangell High School when this class began its journey in high school. I watched them grow, struggle, change, and mature. I've laughed with them and at them. I saw them as timid, unsure 14-year-olds and saw them grow into smart, witty, and tenacious young adults. They each have such incredible personalities that there will certainly be a hole in WHS when they're gone."

Before passing out the diplomas, there were a few more items to take care of. The graduating class pulled out flowers and presented them to their parents and close family members, as a thank you for their support through high school. The parents, too, had a graduation gift for their kids. Each graduating student had a slideshow made of them, showing their progression from babies to young adults. The parents had also recorded messages to their kids at the end of each slideshow, saying how proud they are and how much they love them.

After receiving their diplomas, the students switched their tassels to the other side of their hat, threw them into the air, balloons fell from the ceiling and music began to play. With that, another class completed its journey through Wrangell High School. The walk down the aisle from the stage was filled with cheers, confetti, and applause, as well as the promise of an exciting future.