Largest-ever Valley class graduates

May 25, 2007

By Will Elliott

Frontiersman

WASILLA - Wasilla High School seniors made history Wednesday as the largest graduating class in Mat-Su Valley history. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Wasilla High alumnus and parent of a graduating senior, gave the keynote address.

As the crowd erupted in cheers and camera flashes, more than 270 graduating seniors marched into the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, led by contingents from Alaska Celtic Pipes and Drums and the Irish Dance Academy of Alaska in full regalia. Next, Fort Richardson's U.S. Army Color Guard presented the flags. Cowboy hats and beanies alike were held to hearts as the Wasilla Senior Choir sang the national anthem. Spectators drowned out the final lines with a thunderous &#8220And the home/of the/Warriors!”

Outside, the remnants of a traffic jam that at one point stretched as far east as the Wasilla Fred Meyer were still trolling the packed parking lots of the sports complex, hoping to avoid the quarter-mile walk from where many had left their cars.

Keeping with graduation ceremonies' thematic norm, in a joint speech senior class president Samantha Ramsey and vice president Hillarie Putnam focused on how the highlights of the past four years will prepare students for the future. Ramsey and Putnam also urged graduates, as they disperse and disappear into that future, to always hold dear their memories of high school.

&#8220Take care of your memories,” the two quoted singer Bob Dylan, &#8220for you cannot relive them.”

As if to underscore those words, the seniors' slideshow followed, as one last reminder of their years at Wasilla High.

Three valedictorians spoke, having earned the honor with four years of straight As.

&#8220Good job, guys. You made it to the hat,” said first speaker Lindsey Miller.

In what would become a refrain as other speakers added to the night's remarks, Miller downplayed the significance of graduation to emphasize that seniors' real opportunities to distinguish themselves are yet to come.

&#8220Just because we graduated doesn't mean we rule the world,” she said. &#8220We are not passive astronauts in the spaceship of the future.”

Christel Wagle seconded Miller in plainer terms.

&#8220Sitting around waiting for life to happen doesn't work,” she said.

Final valedictorian Benjamin Briceland closed on a more sober note.

&#8220Things change. Dreams die,” he said, reminding classmates of friends no longer with them. But uncertainty and loss can be instructive, Briceland said, and breed in graduates both the strength and relentlessness the future may require.

&#8220I challenge each and every one of you to never settle,” he said. &#8220Challenge future. Challenge authority. And most importantly, challenge yourselves.”

The night's next performers, the student band Epic, challenged expectations of a traditional graduation song with wild costumes and wailing guitars.

Gov. Palin then took the stage to cheers from her hometown crowd.

&#8220Warriors, what a shining season we've had,” she said, referring to state championships won by the boys and girls basketball teams. &#8220This is a class of champions.”

Palin began with an address to students who may not consider themselves as such.

&#8220For those of you feeling like you're middle of the road, lost in the crowd,” she said, &#8220That's most of us.”

But each of the graduates has a specific destiny, Palin maintained, and even the most undistinguished student has an important role in the final cosmic calculus.

&#8220Seek what it is you are created to do,” she said. &#8220Nothing is an accident.”

According to Palin, though, graduates can't count on dharma and determinism alone to bring them success. Will and hard work are required, she said.

Palin invoked the Wasilla High mascot, the Warrior, to emphasize just how hard that work may be. But even if life seems like war, Palin suggested, graduates can at least take consolation in the fact that their struggles are foreordained.

&#8220In the heat of battle, remember that being a Warrior has been part of the plan for you,” the governor said.

One by one, graduates then took the stage, hugging teachers, waving to the crowd, and taking their seats with tassels turned.

Class counselor Jeanine Sparks closed the night in a different tone than the governor's.

&#8220Keep reaching, keep seeking, keep loving,” she said.

Contact Will Elliott at 352-2252 or will.elliott@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla high school

class of 2007

Alicia J. Adams, Keelan S. Ahern, Cyrus Frank Aldeman, Elissa Dawn Alderman, Laura Elizabeth Anderson, Julie Marie Andrews, Lisa Eleanor Apangalook, Kristopher Shane Artz, Chelsea M. Bahn, Justin Bailey, Alexis Ann Baker, Alan Thomas Bartelli, John PL Bates, Jesse James Bean, Aaron Wayne Bean, Gabrielle Maria Becker, Kyle J. Beckham, Brionne Bentz, Nicole Leanne Betti, Brooke Angel Beus, Kelsey C. Beus, Michelle Erin Beus, Heather L. Black, Holly J. Blake, William Edward Bocast, Nathan D. Boegel, Amy Marie Bohmbach, Eric John Bonnes, Nicole Amber Braman, Carl Ross Brent, Justine N. Breshears, Benjamin Briceland, Ashley Diane Briggs, Ayla Marie Brown, Howdice L. Brown III, Michael Edward Brown, Shana L. Bruns, Tiffany M. Bruns, Todd J. Buckmeier II, Austin Richard Bulawa, Walker S. Burgett, Harry Parker Caldwell, Jr., Jorge R. Camargo, Joseph L. Campbell, Joshua S. Campbell, Duane S. Carpenter, Jessica LeAnn Carter, Sarah P. Casey, Danielle M. Caswell, Jeffrie L. Champion, Harriet A. Chilton, Octavia L. Christensen-Vavila, Jillian Marie Clayton, Cory Jacob Clump, Ian T. Collins, Jeremiah Dillon Collins, Joshua Jeffrey Michael Collins, Krystina M. Collins, Sarah A. Collins, Kendal Roy Copping, Derek Arthur Cottle, Corey Daniel Cowgill, Kip Eric Craig, Ashley A. Cronk, Vladimir Alexander Dahl, Mackenzie Wade Deiman, Melissa A. Derr, Andrea L. Deuster, Nicholas Adam Dewan, Zachary J. Dolechek, Nicole D. Duque, Cody E. Eastgate, Heather Renee Eggleston, Christopher M. England, Sandra Michelle Evan, Wilfred Fernandez III, Saundra Lynn Fife, Zachary Michael Force, Stacey Malinda Foster, Alyssa G. Fredrick, Westley Edward Gagnon, Christina Breanne Gallagher, Kailey Roark Gamble, Nathan E. Garcia, Haley E. George, Randy Makoto George, Clayton L. Glenn, Erik Greene, Ashley Mae Gregory, Samantha Maria Gregory, Danielle M. Haley, Amber M. Halsey, Lisa L. Hampton, Bret Thomas Hamrick, Jr., Justin R. Hansen, Britta Lee Hanson, Jill LaBelle Hanson, Kevin A. Harless, Casey M. Hart, Lynnsey Nichole Hays, Lindsay Faye Hermanns, Sasha R. Hermans, Nathan P. Herold, Charles K. Hesselbach, Erin Hooley, Katherine Lee Howes, Benjamin G. Hughes, Skye Lynn Hulke, Holy Lee Hunt, Courtnie Marie Husmann, Chantel Bonae Hutchinson, Jordan Christopher Ingalls, Heather Renea Jackson, Hal C. James, Alisha M. Jennings, Jonathan R. Jensen, Eli Michael Johnson, Tara Jean Johnson, Michelle L. Kanosh, David Aleksander Kellner-Rode, Cory P. Kilbourne, Douglas W. Knecht, James Cody Knighten, Michael Robert Knutson, Ivan Kolomeychuk, Beverly R. Koso, Matthew P. Koss, Marina Y. Kovalenko, Abby Josephine Krueger, Quincey Lee Kysar, Jerett B. Laird, Anthony Michael Lamb, Kaela Larson, Csesalie Danielle Lease, Kristal L. Leonard, Andrea Yvonne Lettow, Jaimee Nicole Lettow, Chelsea R. Lewis, Ashley Nicole Lindberg, Drew Nicholaus Litwack, Aurora Leigh Loeffler, Alexander R. Lowe, Chad D. Lyles, Frances J. Lynch, Michael T. Maestas, Jesse W. Manchester, Shaeli J. Marley, Patrick Richard Marshall, Tommy D. Marshall, Michael G. Martin, Candice Marie McCollum, Paul G. McCone, Emily Bingham McCorkell, Stephen Harold McElroy, Samantha A. McLeod, Melissa S. McLin , Gary I. McLinn, Megan Cherie Metcalf, Lindsey Raven Miller, Robin L. Miller, Zachariah M. Miller, Anne Louise Moeller, Katie E. Montanelli, Diana Jadira Moreira-Saltos, Mayerly Andrea Morse, Justin A. Mulkey, Jessica M. Munholland, Dmitry A. Muzechuk, Brock Kenneth Nelson, Cassidy Albert Nelson, Clayton Nelson, Jack Josiah Nelson, Olga Mikhaylovna Netsvetayeva, Katherine E. Noble, Kaitlyn E. Norris, Nicole D. O'Brien, Jeremy L. O'Donnell, John P. Ohmann, Bonnie K. Oldham, Casey Constance Orbeck, John S. Pahkala, Track CJ Palin, Brooks B. Patton, Ashley Renee Payne, Aron Lawrence Peet, Daniel Errol Pelletier, Dara Lynn Peltier, Caitlin Elizabeth Pendergrast, Elizabeth M. Perkins, Kelsey K. Peterson, Titus William Peterson, Bryce David Pilny, Makiah Alyshia Podbielski, Sasha R. Pohwat, Heather Pollock, Michael R. Porreca, Ariel Rebecca-Ley Powell, Eldon Mark Prater, Cody Daniel Prater-Cox, Arianna Nicole Presley, Hillarie Helen Putnam, Samantha A. Ramsey, Christopher S. Rathbun, Andrew M. Reeves, Hunter Scott Rhoades, Jared Clayton Ricker, Rickie JT Richardson, Aubrey A. Robison, Dylan L. Rosevear, Schuyler Gene Roskam, Ashley Marie Sandoval, Leonard N. Savage, Christopher D. Sawyer, Stacey Christine Sawyer, Norman J. Sbrusch, Andrew J. Schirack, Hunter L. Scholtz, Rene Jean Schwarz, Heather A. Seils, Jody Christian Serrano, Roman Shevchuk, Nathan J. Skinner, Selena K. Sletten, Bethany K. Sliwa, Natalie Slowik, Daniel P. Smith, Jessi F. Speer, Joshua E. Stamm, Cody A. Stanley, Aleigh Jean Stauffer, Ashley M. Steinbeck, Melissa Renee' Stella, Deanna Brae-Lynn Stevens, Chauncey Lee Stigen, Shawn Allen Strain, Justin C. Sutton, Molly K. Swanson, James R. Switzer, Ashley A. Sydow, Zackery Brian Tackett, Aaron Joseph Thomas, Jenny A. Thomas, Samuel C. Thomas, Jack Cole Troshynski, Gabriella Alexandra Valladares, Kati Arlene Vance, Alla Vodlenshchuk, Christel Ryann Wagle, Megan N. Walker, Ronald Morgan Walker, Yvonne J. Warner, Tara Lynn Webb, Stephen Patrick Wehe, Micah David Weinstein II, Anne Elizabeth Wesser, Nicholas Whitney, Kenneth Carl Widmer Jr, Brett Alexander Willett, Logan Boone Williams, Otis LT Williams, Ronald Carey Williamson Jr, Amber M. Wilson, Ashley Kathryn Lynn Woolley, Bradford W. Wright, Casey Michael Wright, Oksana Viktorovna Zagorodnyaya; and Foreign Exchange students Andreas Baltes, Sebastian Chavez Campuzano, Janina Enachescu, Clarissa Simon Factum, Da Som Jeong, Kathrine Foss Lillelund, Nyakeh Sam Suale.