Panthers step boldly into the future

Even by Alberton standards the 2013 graduating class of six seniors was small – but what they lacked in numbers they made up for in academic excellence and school spirit.

On Sunday the gym at Alberton School was filled as friends and family members gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of the senior class as well as send them off into their future endeavors.

“To the class of 2013, you will go down as one of the smallest but also as a class who has accomplished a great deal,” Alberton Superintendent Jim Baldwin said. “You were the first class to have a senior project on your resume. I urge each and every one of you to continue down that path of volunteering and trying to make each and every city you live in a better place. What you did will have a lasting effect here in Alberton and on behalf of the community and the school – special thanks to you for your efforts.”

After Superintendent Baldwin spoke, Alberton Salutatorian Shawndra Rohrbach was introduced and she addressed both her fellow classmates as well as the audience.

“Today we celebrate one of the most memorable moments of our lives - graduation,” Rohrbach said. “I realized this year that life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people that treat you right and forget about those who don’t. I’ve learned that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance – take it. If it changes your life – let it.”

Rohrbach continued her speech by discussing the impact of choices in our lives – both positive and negative – and how those choices mold us into who we are today.

“I am who I am today because of all the people in my life who have pushed me to do my best,” Rohrbach said. “Without the teachers here at Alberton I would be stuck trying to figure out who I am and who I am supposed to be.”

The guest speaker at this year’s commencement was Dr. Andrew Blackman, an Alberton graduate in 2000 who according to Superintendent Baldwin “proves that no matter what size of a school you attend that success is based on hard work and effort in the classroom.”

After graduating from Alberton, Dr. Blackman began his college career at the University of Gonzaga in Spokane, where he graduated in four years. He then moved on and received his doctorate prior to conducting his residency as an orthopedic surgeon.

Dr. Blackman will begin a fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and become the team doctor for the Minnesota Twins.

“Class of 2013 thank you for inviting me to speak to you today, it is truly an honor,” Dr. Blackman said. “Throughout my journey in education I got looks when I told people I graduated from a class of 24. I can’t imagine the reaction you guys are going to get.”

Dr. Blackman went on to discuss the benefits of growing up in a small community like Alberton and giving the graduating class encouragement and advice for their future as they move on to college.

“It’s time to seize the day,” Dr. Blackman said.

Valedictorian Emma Wooldridge was the final speaker of the ceremony and she was introduced by Superintendent Baldwin, who spoke of how Wooldridge brought tennis to Alberton when she moved to the town her sophomore year and her future plans of becoming an environmental engineer.

Wooldridge began her speech by talking about how she felt lost before moving to Alberton, how her freshman year was “a blur” and she was trying to figure out who she was and who she wanted to be.

But that changed when she moved to Alberton.

“In the three years here of living in the tiny community I realized how much a person can grow and change,” Wooldridge said. “I want to thank this school and town for what it’s done for me.”

After Wooldridge concluded her speech the six seniors received their diplomas and triumphantly threw their caps in the air to a roaring applause.