One graduates from Glacier View

May 20, 2007

By Will Elliott

Frontiersman

GLACIER VIEW - Glacier View School senior Christopher Lawler stands out among the class of 2007. He's the only one.

Lawler says that suited him just fine.

&#8220The personal attention is great. If you have a problem, it's not like the teacher has another class in five minutes. They can sit and talk to you,” he said.

Lawler is going on to study game and simulation programming at DeVry Institute in Phoenix, Ariz.

He said he hopes to program video games, or design flight simulations for the military.

The relative remoteness of the school, on a bluff overlooking the Matanuska River and glacier at Mile 104 of the Glenn Highway, has made for some long bus rides. Lawler's commute from his Chickaloon home takes more than three hours a day. But the small-town setting and tight-knit community makes up for it, Lawler said.

&#8220Everybody knows your name,” he said.

As a Glacier View tradition, each year the principal takes the graduating class out to lunch. Lawler dined at the Long Rifle Lodge above Matanuska Glacier.

&#8220Everybody knows me there, too,” he said.

Glacier View School began in a motel room at a local roadhouse in 1962. The school now serves around 50 students, from as far away as Chickaloon and Glennallen.

Contact Will Elliott at

352-2252 or will.elliott@

frontiersman.com.