2015 grad speech final (2) (1) - Wonewoc

Happy Graduation Day seniors! Today is a day to celebrate.
It is like the Fourth of July but with no fireworks, Christmas but with no Santa Claus, and St. Patrick’s Day but
without the leprechaun and the rainbow, Halloween without the candy, Easter with no bunny, your birthday
with no cake (Ann – but there is cake), oh your birthday with no presents (Peggy – there are presents), well
then Happy Birthday!
Today is a day that ends one chapter in the story of your lives and begins another chapter, a chapter filled
with more adventures; adventures both exciting and boring, both carefree and serious, both joyful and heart
wrenching.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. (cell phone interruption)
Some of you will come back here from time to time to visit; you may come to games or concerts or plays, or
you may just stop in to say hi. Some of you will never step foot in this building again. We may only meet
again in some chance encounter on the street. This is the way of life.
However, we want you to know that you, as individuals and as a class, have touched our lives. We will not
forget you. You see, “some people come into our lives and quietly go. Some stay for a while and leave
footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same again.”
You are a group of individuals who have left those footprints on our hearts. Our lives are better because of
you.
So we are here to celebrate your day, beginning with a poem we wrote in your honor.
The graduating class of 2015
Is a class of students like we’ve never seen;
Some days they may be lazy, or a little bit crazy,
But their actions have labeled them as gentlemen and ladies.
Collectively, we have worked here for fifty-one years,
And have witnessed many a class walk this stage (through our tears);
Now the class of 2015 definitely takes the chocolate cake
With the wonderful legacy they leave in their wake.
No one is cooler and calmer than James Baldwin,
This basketball athlete is the quiet one in this din;
A little bit sneaky, he silently gets Doering in trouble,
Need help, James will come running on the double!
Sarah Benish, the sweet, kind soul of the class –
Always up to something, she’s full of fun loving sass;
On the stage is where this natural actress should be
A picture of grace, beauty, and dignity.
Maddie Benson is truly the class perfectionist –
This hard working girl is also extremely compassionate;
Everything she does is done with a beautiful smile
Because it is all done in true Maddie style!
The sweetheart of the class is Crystal Bitter –
She is also this class’ quiet little go-getter;
Behind the scenes is where she likes to remain,
Through it all, she never once has complained.
Matt Bouras is serious about life and school With his attitude and height, he will definitely rule;
Our elementary kids think he is really cool
Helping in BASE and Spanish, Matt is nobody’s fool!
One who is true to herself is our girl Kaitlin Brockman –
You need something done, she is pure platinum;
Kaitlin definitely marches to the beat of her own drum
Guiding kids and her guy, from her duties she doesn’t run.
Our cute silly girl is the one and only Montana Bruch –
She may be a bit gullible but she never gets stuck;
Known for leaving her English book on the roof of her car,
She may be a bit forgetful but in our eyes she is a star.
Hannah Brunner, the oldest of our triplet three –
From high school, she wishes that she could be free;
From horses to farming, Hannah is a country girl
Out west she may go to give life a big whirl!
The younger of the Brunner girls is named Heidi –
She is a bit serious, a bit funny, a bit forgetful, and a bit tidy;
Loving horses and farming like big sister Hannah,
You might see her in a rodeo or racing in a gymkhana.
Josh Brunner is the man of this infamous trio –
You may see him making his way between the girls like a torpedo;
This goofy guy looks like he is up to no good
But he is just stealing Hannah and Heidi’s food!
Katie Connors came to Wonewoc to finish her schooling–
Outdoorsy, she does things that others find grueling;
Working on a farm, Katie has a tough and dirty role
But she can’t hide the fact she has a sensitive soul.
Deal with it Doering is what we call Matt –
At his size, he has rocked in every chair that he has sat;
Matt is a two milks a day computer hacker extraordinaire
With the boys in his class, he is the group’s arbitrator.
Alana Fry is talented both artistically and musically –
Everything she produces, she does so very beautifully;
Another senior who walks to her own drum beat
With her uniqueness, no one else can compete.
One of our graduates is a lifeguard and volunteer fireman
Logan Fulton can save lives like no other senior can;
He also has an obnoxious, funny, lovable side
He’s so loud, he ends up being the senior boys’ fall guy!
The class’ sensitive young man is Marcus Holloway –
If you have tech problems, he will help you out all day;
From amateur chef to running the sound to expert flute playing,
Marcus is your man, that’s what we’re saying.
The little old lady of the class is Chelsey Karstetter –
In knitting and crocheting, no one can do better;
With her knowledge of animals, Chelsey should have a doctorate,
We were not surprised to hear that she is lactose intolerant!
Austin Knock is our true blue country boy –
His helpfulness is not just a ploy;
Kaitlin is his true love, yes, he pesters her all day,
For his acts of kindness, we applaud him and say “HEY!”
Casey Krueger is the class’ strong, silent guy –
He happily plays his sports in true athlete style;
Two sisters and two brothers, yes, Logan is all his,
Skilled in getting others in trouble, Casey is a true whiz!
Brennon Nootbaar will do anything on a double dare –
Swallowing a live frog is not all he can bear;
This respectful, quiet guy loves playing guitar,
And with his good looks he can be anything, even a movie star.
Landan Polk loves performing, basketball & track –
He’s broken school records, we wish he’d come back;
Landan works hard, but he’s like a fart in the wind
Because no matter how hard we look, we can never find him!
Jon Rhinehart is just a good ol’ boy –
A lover of school, John would tell you, “No way!”
His day is not complete without his favorite chocolate milk,
Working with his hands, Jon has been part of a lot of builds.
Our hard working Niel Robel is polite as can be –
Except when there is an English book, then the beast is released;
We hear he has a fancy new red truck that is his baby
We wonder how Lexi feels, you know she is his lady!
Strong but sensitive, Kylie Ruetten, does no wrong –
“I didn’t do it” is one of her favorite songs;
As an athlete, against Kylie we wouldn’t want to compete,
She is one of the sweetest, most compassionate girls you will meet.
Emma Schumann is as bubbly as anyone can be –
Her infectious smile and laugh make her a true beauty;
Emma plays sports throughout the entire school year
If there’s an Old Navy around, Emma will find it, have no fear!
The class firecracker is little Carly Shore –
With her brains and motivation, she will definitely soar;
Carly is well known for budging in front of Mr. Howe
When we hear her sing, we utter an amazed “HOLY COW!”
Alex Sipes came to Wonewoc-Center as a senior –
With his demeanor, we think he is quite the keeper;
Alex has good hair and is a truly snappy dresser,
And as Emma’s beau, he is quite the treasure.
Halie Voigtlander has overcome many struggles –
As a wonderful mom, Halie loves all the snuggles;
An alarm clock helped to keep her from being late
At school, she is known as an artist, there is no debate.
The diva of the class is our Tasha Wells –
In being a princess, she definitely excels;
A lunch line budger,Tasha may be a bit rotten
Known for flying the bird, she will not be forgotten!
Ellen and Franzi, the foreign exchange students we adore–
Through the year, they have taught us things galore;
We sure hate saying goodbye to these two young ladies
Soon they will leave us, but we will remember them daily.
This class of 2015 is one fine group of people
We will shout it out from all the steeples;
Not only are they sweet, polite, silly, carefree, and fun
Giving their class funds to St. Judes was unselfishly done.
So we take our hats off to this small group of seniors
Think big in life, we know you are a bunch of dreamers;
Good luck to you all in every path each of you choose
This is a new chapter, you have nothing to lose!
While writing this speech, we asked ourselves what words of wisdom we have to offer you as you leave us to
begin the rest of your lives.
Obviously… as three middle-age ladies who have been out of high school for a combined total of 97
years…we cannot let you loose on the world without giving you some last minute advice. And so, today we
would say to you...
At the end of the day, your parents are your best friends. Tell them often that you love and appreciate them.
A bad hair day really won’t kill you!
Live below your means. Learn how to budget and save. Remember you don’t need everything you want. He
who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead!
You don’t have to know everything. No one does. Life is a never ending learning process and it is okay to
make mistakes. You are far more likely to regret the things you haven’t done than the things you have done.
Go outside your comfort zone. Try something new and don’t worry about making mistakes. Because
honestly, if you don’t do something stupid while you are young, you will have nothing to laugh about when you
are old!
Toilet paper is very expensive! After you start purchasing your own, you will shudder when you think back at
all the rolls you wasted during Homecoming!
It is important to be nice to people even if you do not like them. Don’t judge. Don’t belittle. You do not know
what kind of battles these people are fighting.
Don’t speed. Tickets cost an awful lot of money AND your insurance will go up, up, up!
Since it is the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late when you can!
The most destructive force in the universe is gossip. It hurts. Everyone. Every time.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Unless the doctor is cute. Then skip the apples.
No matter how busy you are, develop and pursue a passion. Don’t live your life on auto-pilot. Don’t let your
job define who you are. Life is short. Live in the now, not in the what was or the what will be!
And finally (We know you all just collectively sighed) Remember, some days we are the pigeon and some
days we are the statue. On the days that you are the pigeon, be kind to the statue!
You, the class of 2015, are our future and we are proud that we are a part of your lives. And we are going to
be proud when we hear of all the wonderful things you accomplish as you travel down those new paths on
your life’s journey.
As Ellen Degeneres once said, “Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else’s path
unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. Then, by all means, you should follow that.”
So get out there, class of 2015. Follow your own paths! Go and find your joy. It is what you are going to
remember in the end. It’s not the worry. It’s not the what-ifs. It’s the joy that stays with you.
We want to thank you all for the joy that you brought Wonewoc-Center Schools.
Good luck to each and every one of you. Become greatness. Don’t settle for less.
WE DIDN’T!
Congratulations class of 2015!
Mrs. Bradley
Ann Lankey
Ms. Hembd