There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
—Class motto
Believin’ may be the word that best sums up Orion High School’s Class of 2010.
During graduation on Sunday, May 23, senior vocalists sang “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which ends with the words “Don’t stop.”
As the choir voices ceased, the audience heard a single voice on the stage add the word “believin’” from a senior who had been singing along with the choir.
Graduation was an emotional ceremony for the seniors, who paused several to remember classmate Greg Nightingale. He died during their junior year.
The class also celebrated Derrick Andrae, who underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor last fall.
Meanwhile, the ceremony was broadcast live over the internet for the first time, thanks to the wizardry of Austin Mount, the district’s technical director.
Junior marshals Shannon Gambon and Dillon Johnson led the seniors into the gymnasium as director Josh Youngs led the concert band in the familiar strains of Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.”
Seniors wore red, white and blue ribbons pinned on their robes in memory of Nightingale, and soccer players made sure all of their classmates also had orange bracelets in his memory.
As they filed onto the stage, the seniors left an open seat in the row where Nightingale would have been, senior Alyssa Zwicker told the audience.
“Last year, we lost not only Greg, but his infectious laughter, contagious smile and loving spirit of life,” Zwicker said.
“Walking through these hallways or sitting in the classes just wasn’t the same without him,” senior Kennen Hutchison added. “Although we are graduating and preparing to take the next steps in our lives, Greg will remain with us forever.”
After the seniors were seated, Orion school board president Doug Nelson noted that for seniors used to cellphones, e-mail, texting, blogging and tweeting, the mailbox is an antique.
He showed the seniors a mailbox and said, “The mailbox tells people who you are and where you live. It is an icon for traditional rural values. It is home. Today you are being asked to establish your own mailbox. It is time to let the world know who you are and where you wish to call home.”
Class president, Hutchison followed with the welcome.
“I guess as class president I’m expected to give you this long and touching speech about how we’ve grown,” he said. “But why don’t we just get this thing started? So listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Welcome to Orion High School’s graduation for the Class of 2010.”
Hutchison then presented the lancer, which is festooned with banners from the Class of 2010 and its predecessors, to junior class president Maddie DePorter.
After Hutchison and Zwicker spoke briefly about Nightingale, vocal music teacher Andrea Kapusinski directed the senior vocalists as they sang “In Remembrance” by Eleanor Daley.
“Last year we performed this song to remember Greg and let him know he was not forgotten,” Kapusinski said.
Principal Ron Harris praised the staff and faculty from C.R. Hanna Elementary School and Orion Middle School for the roles they played in preparing their students for high school.
He read the names of students in the top 10 percent of the class, who received medals on red, white and blue neck ribbons from Superintendent David Deets.
They were Amelia Martens, Jake Dahl, Melissa Fielding, Marlana Kulig, Alexis Long, Alex Miller, Annette Putnam, Amanda Schulenberg and Zwicker.
As valedictorian, Martens spoke about the sacrifices necessary to rank at the top of the class.
“I am not standing before you today because I am a super genius,” she said. “If I were, the last 13 years would have been a piece of cake, and trust me, they weren’t. I am standing before all of you today because I worked hard and persevered.”
Harris then presented special awards to the seniors. The list of awards, accompanied by photos, will be in next week’s Orion Gazette.
Kim Nightingale, Greg’s mother, joined her fellow school board members Jon Zahm and Dwayne Anderson in presenting diplomas to seniors.
|
|
|
There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
—Class motto
Believin’ may be the word that best sums up Orion High School’s Class of 2010.
During graduation on Sunday, May 23, senior vocalists sang “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which ends with the words “Don’t stop.”
As the choir voices ceased, the audience heard a single voice on the stage add the word “believin’” from a senior who had been singing along with the choir.
Graduation was an emotional ceremony for the seniors, who paused several to remember classmate Greg Nightingale. He died during their junior year.
The class also celebrated Derrick Andrae, who underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor last fall.
Meanwhile, the ceremony was broadcast live over the internet for the first time, thanks to the wizardry of Austin Mount, the district’s technical director.
Junior marshals Shannon Gambon and Dillon Johnson led the seniors into the gymnasium as director Josh Youngs led the concert band in the familiar strains of Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.”
Seniors wore red, white and blue ribbons pinned on their robes in memory of Nightingale, and soccer players made sure all of their classmates also had orange bracelets in his memory.
As they filed onto the stage, the seniors left an open seat in the row where Nightingale would have been, senior Alyssa Zwicker told the audience.
“Last year, we lost not only Greg, but his infectious laughter, contagious smile and loving spirit of life,” Zwicker said.
“Walking through these hallways or sitting in the classes just wasn’t the same without him,” senior Kennen Hutchison added. “Although we are graduating and preparing to take the next steps in our lives, Greg will remain with us forever.”
After the seniors were seated, Orion school board president Doug Nelson noted that for seniors used to cellphones, e-mail, texting, blogging and tweeting, the mailbox is an antique.
He showed the seniors a mailbox and said, “The mailbox tells people who you are and where you live. It is an icon for traditional rural values. It is home. Today you are being asked to establish your own mailbox. It is time to let the world know who you are and where you wish to call home.”
Class president, Hutchison followed with the welcome.
“I guess as class president I’m expected to give you this long and touching speech about how we’ve grown,” he said. “But why don’t we just get this thing started? So listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Welcome to Orion High School’s graduation for the Class of 2010.”
Hutchison then presented the lancer, which is festooned with banners from the Class of 2010 and its predecessors, to junior class president Maddie DePorter.
After Hutchison and Zwicker spoke briefly about Nightingale, vocal music teacher Andrea Kapusinski directed the senior vocalists as they sang “In Remembrance” by Eleanor Daley.
“Last year we performed this song to remember Greg and let him know he was not forgotten,” Kapusinski said.
Principal Ron Harris praised the staff and faculty from C.R. Hanna Elementary School and Orion Middle School for the roles they played in preparing their students for high school.
He read the names of students in the top 10 percent of the class, who received medals on red, white and blue neck ribbons from Superintendent David Deets.
They were Amelia Martens, Jake Dahl, Melissa Fielding, Marlana Kulig, Alexis Long, Alex Miller, Annette Putnam, Amanda Schulenberg and Zwicker.
As valedictorian, Martens spoke about the sacrifices necessary to rank at the top of the class.
“I am not standing before you today because I am a super genius,” she said. “If I were, the last 13 years would have been a piece of cake, and trust me, they weren’t. I am standing before all of you today because I worked hard and persevered.”
Harris then presented special awards to the seniors. The list of awards, accompanied by photos, will be in next week’s Orion Gazette.
Kim Nightingale, Greg’s mother, joined her fellow school board members Jon Zahm and Dwayne Anderson in presenting diplomas to seniors.
Andrae received a standing ovation as he crossed the stage to accept his diploma.
The senior vocalists sang “Don’t Stop Believin’,” arranged by Billingsley, before Zwicker gave the farewell.
“Each member of our class knows we have had more than our share of trials and tribulations,” she said.
“When we heard that our classmate, Greg Nightingale, had passed, there were no words to describe the feelings, the pain or the misunderstanding,” Zwicker said. “With over 200 students attending the funeral, we got through it the only way we knew how—by crying on the shoulders you trust and holding the hands you grew up with.”
Then Zwicker recalled the challenge the seniors faced when they learned about Andrae’s brain cancer.
“Many seniors dance for their last prom or their final senior dinner dance,” she said. “Our seniors danced to a fundraiser to cover medical
costs for a classmate.
“Seeing Derrick around the halls at school again, and even at After Prom, showed just what character a 17-year-old can have.”
That brought another standing ovation from the audience, and from Andrae’s classmates on the stage.
The seniors left the stage as the band played J.J. Richards’ “Emblem of Unity.”
Immediately after the ceremony, the graduates visited Nightingale’s grave in Beulah Presbyterian Church’s cemetery in rural Orion.
Then they returned to friends and family to celebrate their achievements.
And to go right on believin’.
Seniors receiving diplomas were David Todd Amlong, Derrick B. Andrae, Kayla Renee Arkebauer, Steven Michael Bainter, Grant L. Barnard, Andrew Bealer, Dylan L. Beemblossom, Joseph D. Belton, Joshua L. Belton, Alexis Nicole Benware, Jill Marie Bergstrand, and McKenzie Linn Bert.
Also graduating were Megan Kay Blumenshein, Darin Palmer Bohl, Brittany Rae Bush, Brooke Nichole Bush, Trevor Lee Carlson, Carine C. Christal, Andrew Cline, Jacob Charles Dahl, Beth Ann Davis, Tyler Joseph DeDecker, Harlie Anne Dusenberry, Rachel F. Engnell, Melissa Anne Fielding, Alex J. Fleming, Jacqueline Michelle Franklin, Travis C. Fritz, Brooke Elizabeth Hamilton, Baillie J. Hancock and Baillie Anne Harmon.
The class also included Zachary Lester Heiar, Katherine Leigh Hellberg, William Allen Hindman, Samantha Lynn Hixson, Abigail Lynn Holmes, Elizabeth Kendra Hull, Kennen Matthew Hutchison, Kelly Marie Hutton, Jerica L. Johnson, Amy Marie Komadino, Dillon Alexander Kostka, Marlana Joy Kulig, Hannah Marie Larson, Theodore Robert Leuck, Sarah Ann Lohr, Alexis Marie Long and Jessica M. Longshore.
Among the newest graduates of OHS were Jena Christine Malmen, Amelia Marie Martens, Morgan Elizabeth Martin, Morgan Taylor Mason, James Michael Matson, Samantha McAvoy, Samantha Marie McMullin, William Alexander Miller, Aric Bradon Nation, Amanda Lee Norberg, Luke William Owens, Annette Kathie Frances Putnam, Stacey Raccone, Amanda Lyn Schulenberg, Jennifer Leigh Seabloom, Dale Michael Shake and Melinda Kathleen Shake.
Others in the class were Aleesha Kay Shawgo, Jared Russell Simmer, Bryon W. Smiley, Emilee D. Snapp, Chelsy Marie Stone, Madison Marie Studer, Hillary Christine Taets, John D. Taylor, Logan James Thomas, Matthew S. Thor, Samuel Lucian VanDuyne, Sara Nicole VanIseghem, Evan Michael Viager, Bradley Lavern Walker, Drew Michael West, Kathrine E. Williams, Benjamin Dean Wyant, Kristina Marie Zahniser and Alyssa Anne Zwicker.
Chinese exchange student Haidong Zhang received a certificate of attendance.
