Adding a bit of merriment to graduation, Class President Amber Todd (left) and Valedictorian Ailee Larson strike a pose with a cardboard cutout of their friend and Salutatorian Molly Rider, who couldn’t be at graduation on Saturday, June 4, but sent a life-sized substitute to share the memories. See more of the 2011 commencement exercises on page A3.
Commencement exercises for the Cook County High School Class of 2011 began with the traditional playing of Pomp and Circumstance and the nervous and solemn entry of the graduates on Saturday, June 4.
Principal Gwen Carman welcomed friends and family to the crowded high school gymnasium and then all stood as the Cook County High School Band played the National Anthem, followed by a performance of the band’s awardwinning— and immensely entertaining— Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Before the music began, Principal Carman asked the senior band members to join the band for their final high school performance. A few tears were brushed away as they rejoined their classmates.
Valedictorian Ailee Larson came to the podium and noted that in years past the valedictorian and salutatorian gave their speeches together. Sadly, she said, Salutatorian Molly Rider had graduated early and was currently in Archelon, Greece, working with a program dedicated to protecting sea turtles. However, Larson said, rummaging beneath the podium, “Molly really wanted to be here.”
Almost done! Seniors posed for pictures before and after commencement exercises at Cook County High School on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Here, Zack Twiest, Daniel Ditmanson, Reid Shepard, Max Simonowicz, Karl Ingebrigtsen, and Alton Danielson impatiently wait for it all to be over.
Larson pulled out a large piece of cardboard and unfolded it, revealing to the audience amid gales of laughter a life-size cutout of Molly Rider in cap and gown. Larson held up her cutout friend and pointed out the bright smile. “She’s very happy. She’s very excited. In fact, she’s speechless,” said a grinning Larson.
Larson read a message of good wishes to the Class of 2011 from Molly Rider and then carefully folded the cardboard figure. She turned serious for a moment, thanking the community and “all of the people who went out of their way to help this class.” She recalled her kindergarten days in Dena Schliep’s class at Sawtooth Elementary and how she was welcomed back years later to work with the young students. “It’s amazing anyone can do that job!” Larson said, expressing appreciation to all of the teachers who helped the Class of 2011 through the years.
Songs and speeches. Left: Sarah Warren sang Don’t Forget Your Name, a song about teenage angst and facing the future. Above: Guest speaker Marie Helbach tearfully recalled the Class of 2011 as her first teaching assignment.
Larson closed with a thank you to her classmates. She noted that it had been a great senior year and she wished them all a great summer, adding, “It’s been real.”
It may not be a tradition at other schools, but at CCHS, a senior song is performed at graduation. This year the music was courtesy of Sebastian Schnobrich, Jesse Johnson, Karl Ingebrigtsen, and Mark Marxen, accompanying Sarah Warren, whose strong vocals filled the gym as she admonished her classmates Don’t Forget Your Name. Warren hit every note, despite the challenge of a slipping mortarboard cap, which she eventually tossed aside to finish the song, earning a standing ovation.
Senior Class President Amber Todd introduced the guest speaker, Marie Helbach, who taught math at CCHS for two years. Todd said, “She took extra time with us—even if we didn’t want it.”
Helbach started by teasing her former students, saying, “I brought paper and pencils so you can take notes…really… I’m not kidding.”
However, she turned quite serious and fought back tears as she spoke of how fond she was of the graduates. She remembered that she was warned when she started at CCHS— her very first teaching job— that this class was “extra lively.” After the laughter of parents and teachers subsided, Helbach continued, noting, “Because I was new to you—and you were new to me, this was an opportunity for a new start. I didn’t care who you were—who your parents were or what you had done in your school career to date. It was a chance for a do-over, a chance to re-invent yourself.
“Well, today marks a day when you truly will redefine who you are. You will no longer be told what to do by your teachers and parents… There will always be people who try to tell you how to live your life. But if you are passive in the construction of your life, of your world, you will one day look around and realize you are not happy. You have control of the walls you build, of the world you create. Be aware of that. You can build a world where anything is possible,” said Helbach.
And most importantly perhaps, said Helbach, “Strive to be happy.”
Then followed another tradition at CCHS, the Senior Slide Show. Principal Carman invited the audience to stand and stretch while the projector was quickly moved in place and started by Brea Boomer, Ailee Larson, and Amber Todd, with their advisor Jane Gellner. Graduates and band members scurried to sit on the floor to better view the show, which was 15 minutes of memories. Baby photos and senior photos rotated with photos of sporting events and plays and moments in the school hallways. The slide show ended with an echo of Valedictorian Ailee Larson’s goodbye—“It’s been real.”
The seniors and the band returned to their seats and the presentation of diplomas went smoothly with a team presenting— Superintendent Beth Schwarz, School Board Member Deb White, Grand Portage Tribal Council Representative April McCormick, Faculty Members Ivy Church, Bryan Hackbarth, and Jane Gellner. There were handshakes and hugs and one very special moment when April McCormick exchanged positions with Superintendent Schwarz so she could present the diploma to her younger sister, Autumn Clearwater-Day.
When all of the diplomas had been presented, Principal Carman formally presented the graduates of 2011 and instructed them to switch their tassels from the left to the right. The smiling graduates did so— and then tossed their caps into the air as the band launched into the recessional.
As they exited, each graduate received a beautiful Star Gazer Lily and as the band played Where Eagles Soar, the graduates of the Class of 2011 set out to redefine themselves.
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