Burchell student speaker calls school an environment that allowed her to grow

Amara Grant needed a special environment to help her grow. That place was Burchell High School.

“School often felt like a hostile place for me, so to the faculty and peers that have helped me grow in a space where I often thought to be hostile, thank you,” Grant said as she addressed her fellow classmates and guests in the audience during Burchell’s class of 2025 commencement ceremony Friday evening the Menard Sports Center in Wasilla.

“Through creativity and a greater support through Burchell, I found the confidence I had lacked to see a version of myself who could be in this position today. Slowly, but surely, I have made strides to become the person I want to be,” Grant said.

Grant also praised the growth of her 34 peers in her graduating class.

“I have seen people water their ideas and ambitions, even without the proper tools to do so,” Grant said. “To the graduating class, every one of you are so bright. It has been wonderful to get to know your stories and see a large part of the people here today grow. I hope through life you find new, larger pots to plant yourself in and see different buds bloom.”

Burchell assistant principal and keynote speaker Charles Carte, who is retiring at the end of the school years after decades in education, reflected on his three years at Burchell, career in music education in the district and his own graduation 41 years ago from Palmer High School.

“At Burchell, we like to say, every day is a new day,” Carte said. “Today, that rings especially true. For you, this is the start of something new. For me, after going to school, every fall for 54 years. Yeah, I counted it. That's a lot of time. I'm ready to begin my next journey.”

Carte — who taught choir, jazz, music theory and composition — compared his career to a piece of music.

“Somewhere along the way, over 4,000 students have crossed my path. Each one of them, like each one of you, matters. Each one of you is a note in the song of my career, and every note matters,” said Carte, who also opened the ceremony with a rendition of the National Anthem on his trumpet. “Education has been more than my job. It's been my entire life.”

Carte urged his graduating seniors to take the achievement and run with it.

“Your diploma is a key that will open doors, but it's up to you to step through. Sometimes you're gonna need to lean into it, you're gonna have to give it a nudge, and sometimes you're gonna have to give it a good kick to get that door open. The important thing is, be willing to move forward when the opportunity appears. However, doors don't stay open forever, and some are automatic. They swing wide open when you least expect it. Others take courage and effort,” Carte said.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.