77% Headed to University, 23% to Military or Work Force in LaSalle Class of 2007
Commencement Exercises Held May 25
By Paul Gingras

In anticipation of commencement, the senior class of 2007 assembles in front of LaSalle High School Friday, May 25.

Acharged air of excitement pervaded the LaSalle High School commencement ceremony Friday, May 25, when 61 seniors dressed in finery passed down an aisle of decorated archways, created for them by junior members of the National Honor Society.

Admired by their peers, family members, teachers, mentors, and friends, the seniors took the stage, one by one, and were graduated. In the brief, formal rite of passage, they completed their first major academic achievement, and paused in the limelight to reflect.

In his farewell speech to the class of 2007, LaSalle Principal Donald Gustafson said 77% of the graduates are poised to enter the halls of higher education, and 23% are ready for the work force, or the discipline of the military.

Thirty-two students wore gold cords, acknowledging that they had earned a 3.0 grade point average or better throughout their years at LaSalle. Nineteen wore white chords, a testament that they had completed 90 hours or more of community service.

Three new graduates of LaSalle High School, (from left) Jessica Hadley, Misti Gamble, and Sarah Schafer, celebrate immediately following their commencement ceremony.

To celebrate the seniors' accomplishment and see them off, Mr. Gustafson focused on a theme that spoke to all occupations and ambitions: He implored them to pursue a life of meaning, quoting a poem by Michael Josephson entitled "What Will Matter."

To the music of the school band, which included seniors playing at LaSalle for the last time, the ceremony celebrated the talents and achievements of the class, highlighting its finest scholars, most talented athletes, and most dynamic musicians.

The evening began with a greeting by Student Council President Allison Brown, who spoke of community. She offered thanks to the people of St. Ignace, who had made the graduates' education possible, kept their sports programs alive, and enabled their special projects to flourish, including the installation of three new flagpoles, complete with flags flapping in the breeze that evening, which marked the entrance to LaSalle for the first time.

St. Ignace seniors pose minutes before being graduated from LaSalle High School Friday, May 25. Pictured (back, from left) are Trevor Belonga, Jonathan Ruegg, Derek Rountree, Jack Goudreau, Justin Emery; (front) Justin Bruce, and Trestin Fogelsonger.

Superintendent Michael Springsteen reminded the seniors that education never truly ends. In preparation for the next stage of their lives, he encouraged them to take "can't" out of their vocabularies.

"Never give up, and best of luck," he said.

Mr. Springsteen read the names of the 12 seniors who had earned highest honors by achieving a 3.5 grade point average or better, throughout their high school years.

Celebrating the spirit of the class, senior drummer Sam Fitzpatrick took the stage for a performance that moved from light drumming to cascading thunder. Ending the performance like a fireworks display, he produced a grand finale that roused his class to stand and cheer.

There were no guest speakers for the commencement. This year, all speeches came from within the school, and Mr. Gustafson noted that only two hundredths of a point separated the valedictorian and salutatorian, both of whom had better than 4.0 grade point averages.

On graduation day, National Honor Society senior members of LaSalle High School pose in front of a flag project they helped produce. Pictured here (front, from left) are Allison Brown, Kelsey Cryderman, Erica Ahlich, Cally Klimczak; (back) Jonathan Ruegg, Jack Goudreau, Daniel Olsen, Lewis Mullins, and Jacob Weiss.

In her address, salutatorian Kelsey Cryderman called her teachers "some of the best" and "truly dedicated."

"We appreciate them," she said, "at times disagree with them, but either way, they have taught us something, about a subject or about ourselves."

In her message, Miss Cryderman spoke of developing character, noting that high school is not only a time when you discover who you are, "it is also a time when you discover who you are not."

It is critical to "see qualities in other people that you wish not to imitate" she said. "It takes strong individuals to stand up and do what they believe in, when it is not necessarily what everyone else may be doing."

Following Miss Cryderman, valedictorian Jessica McGinnis spoke of another fundamental key to achievement: hope.

She told "a story about a little girl," who had overcome the traumatic death of a loved one claimed by cancer. Never revealing the identities of the characters in her narrative, she said, "The reason that I told you this story is because I want to encourage all of you to never give up hope."

Hope, she said, would carry the class of 2007 through higher education, the military, family life, working life, and any the problems that may come.

Quoting Albert Einstein, she concluded, "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

List of Graduates School board President Jane Weiss presented diplomas to the LaSalle High School Class of 2007, which includes the following students:

***#Erica Marie Ahlich, *Desiree Marie Allan, Tonya Lynn Beaudoin, Trevor James Belonga, ***#Allison Margaret Brown, Justin Adam Lee Bruce, Mario Joseph Calcaterra IV, Robert Chris Cena, **Colin Stamford Chan, #Derrick Adam Clark, #Chelsea Marie Closs, **#Chantelle Heather Cook, ***#Kelsey Anna Cryderman, *Justin Patrick Emery, *Joshua David Fenlon, *William Samuel Fitzpatrick, Trestin John Daniel Fogelsonger, *# Misti Lynn Gamble, Corey Ryan Garlock, *Nicholas Angelo George, ***Jack Douglas Goudreau, *#Stevie Catherine Gould, Karl Duncan Graham, Sarah Ellen Grogan, Jessica Lynn Hadley, Sasha Katherine Horn, Gabriel Allen Hughey, #Aaron Joseph Huskey, **Teresa Lynn Huskey, Jessica Lynne Hyslop, **Lee Alexander Kelso, David Austin Kievit, ***#Cally Ann Klimczak, *#Jamie Michelle Krug, **Amy Nicole Lambert, Jeremiey Curtis Lee, Carley Diane Massey, ***Andrew Paul Matelski, Benjamin Paul Matelski, William Ray Matson, ***Jessica Lehua McGinnis, ***#Lewis Russell Mullins, *Tanner Alan North, ***#Daniel Lee Olsen, Nickolas James Polstin, Laura Mabel Rickley, *Whitney Brooke Robinson, *#Derek James Rountree, ***#Jonathan Philip Ruegg, Derek Blake Rutledge, *James William Sayles, *Sarah Joy Schafer, ***#Sydney Beth Schroeder, Jacob John Smith, *#Alexandria Anne Sposito, Lakon Marie St. Amour, #Kathleen Opal Faye Stelzer, Seth Joseph Tamlyn, Darcy Lynn Thompson, **Panaya Un-natornratanakul, and ***#Jacob Otto Weiss III.

(*Designates 3.0 GPA, **denotes students who earned 3.2 GPA, ***denotes students who achieved 3.5 GPA, # refers to students who completed 90 hours of community service).