Burchell grads overcome monumental obstacles

The largest graduating class in Burchell High School (BHS) history, 93 strong, walked across the Menard Sports Complex stage Friday evening marking the conclusion of their secondary education careers.

The ceremony featured graduates Jared Kuhn, Corrina Cox, and Abby Lampley, along with scholarship presentations. Kuhn was the first graduate to take the podium.

“It’s been quite a year hasn’t it? The fact that we’re all sitting her proves that we won,” Kuhn said. He said he’s had time to reflect on lessons that he’s learned over his time at Burchell. “Wow, that went fast! Then I thought some more and found a few things to take with us.”

First and foremost, Kuhn said, it is important to surround yourself with people who can provide solid advice. He suggested that his fellow graduates include others in their plans, especially those with more experience.

“They can help find solutions that we might not consider on our own,” Kuhn said, adding that good examples are within eyeshot, “...many of those who are with us today…we should be unyielding in our commitment to success. We have the choice to either give in or stay strong; find our calling or give in to someone else’s. The keys to the future are in our hands, now it’s up to us to decide what to do with them.”

Cox spoke next, sharing the life of a quiet, guarded childhood. She said she was held back in kindergarten, not because of academics but rather because she was socially closed off.

“I’m the one who sits by herself at lunch…I stayed mainly under the radar,” Cox said. “I wish now that I had taken more opportunity in my high school experience…It’s taken me years but I’m finally ready to stop being such a quiet person.”

Cox said she didn’t attend school at all my freshman year barely got through her sophomore year.

“Last year I fully intended to drop out,” said Cox, noting she had become so depressed she had reached a point of not caring about anything. Cox said Burchell teacher Lisa Boswell was instrumental in changing that in a huge way. Cox said the staff at BHS gave her enough confidence to announce herself as a proud lesbian.

“Miss Lisa is my mentor and my friend. I can never, ever express how much that means to me and how much she has truly, truly changed my life…Stay true to you and find someone who will love you. If you can find someone who can make you feel safe and genuinely cares about you, like Miss Lisa, you will be OK,” Cox said. She said the school’s Advance Pathway is why she ‘is where she is.’

“Burchell has been the home of a personal journey and I have become truly happy…you have all played a part in helping me grow,” Cox concluded.

Lampley, who because of a rare childhood infection, had half her brain removed as a child.

“For the longest time I didn’t know if I would graduate high school,” said Lampley. “I had to work extra hard to get keep up with classmates.”

Lampley shared the story of how her parents pulled her out of school after the seventh grade, and home schooling didn’t work.

“I quit trying, Lampley said turning to her decision to come to Alaska and enter Mat-Su schools. “I was terrified...of the teachers finding out about my past treating me different, and students because of what happened in seventh grade.”

Lampley said she was never treated any different than other students during her time at Burchell.

“They challenged me every day to be my best…being accepted and not judged really help me feel comfortable enough to stick around long enough,” she said.

Lampley said high school graduation is a step taken to greater things.

“Finishing high school is a big accomplishment and should never be taken for granted,” Lampley concluded. “Know that you have earned that diploma. Never take it for granted that you have finished high school. Because it has been a step worth taking.”

A reception for the graduates took place at the high school following commencement.