On May 31, more than 500 students reached the end of their journey in Clarkston Schools. One by one, they took their last steps as high school seniors and their first as graduates.
The graduation ceremony at the DTE Energy Music Theater was the last time the class of 2006 gathered together. Surrounded by friends and family, seniors entered the auditorium as others performed with the school’s symphonic bands and choirs one last time.
A few beachballs were seen bouncing over the student body, but there was little disruption to the ceremony, which began with a welcome from Clarkston High School Principal Janice Meagher and trips down memory lane with members of the senior class executive branch.
‘Whether we enjoyed (freshman year) or not, there were many changes in all of us. Lasting friendships were made or broken and we all came out of our first year in high school as a new person, a person who is one step closer to knowing what they want out of life, one step closer to being an adult and one step closer to looking back and saying ‘Yeah, they were right. These were the best days of my life,? said senior Casey Schwarz.
‘We can all remember walking in as a freshman wondering what the years ahead would bring. We’ve gone through so much, good and bad, during those years, but it has all been worth it and this moment standing here proves it all,? said senior Anne Maxwell. ‘Now that we’ve completed one chapter of our lives, we continue our journey on. We all will go on to different things in our life, but we all have this common bond that makes us unique.?
Every year, seniors submit essays, one of which is chosen to be read at the event. This year Byron ‘Joe? Baker shared his thoughts on life after high school and what success is.
‘You do not measure success in the number of floors or square footage of your home. It is not achieved with prices tags, name brands and style. It is not determined by popularity or who your friends are,? said Baker. ‘You can’t necessarily see someone’s successes because success is an emotion, a passion, a mindset… someone who is willing to give up something they want to help someone with something they need is successful, someone who’s not afraid of looking stupid to do the right thing, is successful.?
Doug Colling, science teacher at CHS, was the key note speaker for the event, and wished the students luck.
‘We all have and will have to stare adversity in the eye and decide how to persevere through it. This is an inevitable fact of life and one that is very hard to teach in a classroom or find in a text book,? Colling warned. ‘It has been said that confidence is the key to all locks and I certainly hope that you continue to unlock them and realize your true and full potential.?
Before turning the microphone over to Superintendent Dr. Al Roberts, Colling offered a short final anecdotal warning to the students. Colling said he used to baby-sit when he was younger and had at one point watched a young Gary Kaul, now assistant principal at CHS and Colling’s boss.
‘The moral of the story: be nice to nerds, chances are you’ll end up working for one,? Colling said.
Lastly, Roberts relayed advice given to him by his father to the students before he and members of the Clarkston School Board presided over the conferring of diplomas.
‘It’s found in 11 simple words that aren’t particularly, profound, but applying them to life’s decisions will make a difference,? Roberts said. ‘Those 11 words are: listen to everyone, but always do what you think is right.?