Fifty-nine graduate from Rogers City High School

Fifty-nine of Rogers City High School?s newest alumni celebrated by tossing confetti, bottle caps, and shooting canned string into the air, and then departed into the adult world. Before diplomas were handed out, principal Jim Connell awarded certificates for academic honors. The Presidential Scholarship Award went to 13 graduates including Angie Asam, Theresa Bellmore, Joe Berg, Rachel Brege, Leah Claus, Mackenzie Grulke, Samantha Kelly, Charity Lewis, Rachel Quade, Renee? Romel, Alison Schuiteman, Amanda Wodkowski, and Adam Zinke.

Connell also recognized 19 students who had made the honor roll each of their semesters at RCHS. They included Asam, Bellmore, Berg, Brege, Grulke, Lewis, Quade, Romel, Schuiteman, Wodkowski, Zinke, Lauren Fairbanks, Emily Hollabaugh, Amy Hopp, Cody Hurst, Brandon Kania, Amanda Karsten, Trace Kieliszewski, and Andrea Rhode. Valedictorians Alison Schuiteman, Rachel Quade, and Mackenzie Grulke, along with salutatorian Joe Berg, offered their thoughts on the day in special speeches.

?I REMEMBER a lot of events that happened. I had fun,? Berg said. He thanked all the teachers and students for their support over the years. ?High school is not an end. It is just the beginning,? he concluded. ?It is about time,? Grulke started his speech to laughter. He said the past four years had been very exciting. Grulke put his thoughts into a poem, which concluded this way: ?After all the years of hard work and strife, it?s now time to go out and get a life.?

QUADE COMPARED her experiences to the children?s story, The Little Engine That Could. ?Thinking that you can is the first step,? she said. She said the school has prepared her as best it could for the next step in her life. ?We have to decide how we will use that knowledge,? she said. Schuiteman thanked teach

ers and classmates for sharing in her high school years as she said goodbye to her classmates. ?This is the end of the journey that we all took together as a class,? she said. ?We take friendships and memories with us that will last a lifetime.?

EDWARD SCHULTZ, superintendent of schools, told the class the true measure of success is the kind of person one becomes. He urged them to ?pay attention to the values that make your character.? ?Remember, character is higher than intellect,? he said. ?Do what you know is right.? He praised the class for being ?an outstanding group of seniors who are highly motivated.?

Special music was provided by the RCHS band, directed by Ed Wilbert, and the RCHS Voices in Harmony, under the direction of Bryan Mills.