Technology, music
for class of 2009

By Jessica Edwards

Graduates of the Haines High School class of 2009 celebrated their accomplishments Tuesday at Karl Ward Gymnasium with music and words of praise, wisdom and encouragement before a gathered crowd of community well-wishers. Twenty-one students graduated.

Valedictorian William Hickman praised the community for its dedication to students, and the class of 2009 for its dedication to excellence.

“These are the things that set us apart from other places. The traits that the people of this community have shown are reflected in the actions of these students, and these actions have given us all no reason to doubt that they will each succeed beyond their wildest dreams.”

Salutatorian Samantha Clay began her address by remembering schoolmates Jared Henderson and Alan Dennis who died May 6 in a canoe accident.

Clay praised each classmate’s individual strengths, finishing by thanking Haines residents for their devotion and support. Clay’s father, school board member Brian Clay, awarded his daughter her diploma.

Keynote speaker Sam McPhetres, computer science teacher, traced the class’ journey through an increasingly technological landscape, developing apace with the technology.

The students graduating today, McPhetres told the audience, speak a different language. “You were the first,” he said.

“You are the first digital natives in our community to graduate. Technology is simply an extension of your arm. You don’t remember when the Internet wasn’t there.”

But McPhetres said the most powerful piece of technology was the processor they were born with. “This computer is available to everyone. It’s your brain.”

Mosquito Lake teacher Kathy Holmes spoke about the contributions of disabled student Ellen Rasmussen, who reminded others of the simple joy of beginning each day and loved music.

The crowd leapt to its feet to give a standing ovation to graduates Jeremy Larson, Ryan Smalley, and Richard Bachman, Stoli Lende, and juniors Jae McDermaid and Gus Rasmussen for their performance of Boston’s “More than a Feeling.”

Students and audience members waved cell phones like digital lighters. Larson, on lead electric guitar, got the crowd clapping in unison.

Clay sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” a piece from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel.” Lende performed an original, untitled piano composition she dedicated to her parents.

Senior Kate Lindsley may have been the first Haines High graduate with her own uniformed “fan club” – about 15 supporters decked out in light green T-shirts with dragonflies on them, courtesy of mother Michelle LeBrosse.

Eight students graduated with honors, maintaining a grade point average of 3.7 or greater: Clay, Hickman, Lindsley, Kantarin Leelahuta, Renae Miner, Ryan Olsen, Payson Schnabel, and Michael Paul Young.

Superintendent Michael Byer remarked on the bittersweet tenor of graduation. “How did these young men and women grow up so fast? Where did the time go? Sometimes we would like to keep them just a little bit longer. But this is a significant milestone in their lives, and they must move forward.”

Scholarships awarded Monday to class of 2009 graduates include: Richard Bachman, Haines Volunteer Fire Department, $500; Samantha Clay, Haines Volunteer Fire Department $500, American Legion $500, Elks Teenager of the Year $500, Mildred Hermann Scholarship (Haines Woman’s Club) $500, UA Scholars $11,000, Gonzaga Regent’s Scholarship $48,000, Sun Devil Scholarship $35,000, Rutgers University Scholarship $10,000, University of Portland Presidential Scholarship $52,000; William Hickman, Chilkat Valley News $500, Elks Willard B. Sele $2,000, UA Scholars $11,000, Delta Western $10,000; Jeremy Larson, National Wild Turkey Foundation Scholarship $250, Haines Sportsmen’s Association $500, Haines Volunteer Fire Department $500, Elks Teenager of the Year $500, Tamara Hyatt Hanson Fine Arts $500, Chilkat Valley Scholarship $1,000, Haines School Staff/HEA $600; Crystalyn Lemieux, Sealaska Scholarship $1,300, American Legion $500, American Legion Auxiliary $500, Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 5 $500, Lynn Canal Conservation $500, Chilkat Valley Scholarship $1,000; Kate Lindsley, Franklin Pierce Presidential Scholarship $75,000, Arcadia Presidential Scholarship $68,000, Ohio Wesleyan University Scholarship $81,000; Renae Miner, Chilkat Guides, $500, Juneau Lions Club $500; Ryan Smalley, Evergreen State College Scholastic Achievement Award $3,000; Michael-Paul Young, Cougar Academic Scholarship $30,800, Sealaska Heritage Institute Scholarship $1,400, Chilkoot Indian Association Housing Scholarship $3,000.

Other scholarships awarded: Teslyn Visscher, Haines School Staff/HEA $600; Haines High School Construction Program, Bud Sandstrom Vocational Scholarship $1,000; Michelle Sloper, Haines Volunteer Fire Department $500, Haines Woman’s Club Continuing Education $750; Vanessa Phillips Salmon, American Legion Auxiliary $500, Mimi Gregg Memorial Scholarship (Lynn Canal Community Players) $500, Pioneers of Alaska $500; Brianna Phillips, Chilkat Valley Scholarship $1,000; Ashley Adler, Emblem Club $2,000; Chandler Kemp, Elks Tom Ward Sr. $1,000; Kelly Hansen, Haines Volunteer Fire Department $500; Penny Fossman, Emblem Club $2,000; Cory Grant, Tamara Hyatt Hanson Fine Arts $500; Christine Hansen, Haines Volunteer Fire Department $500; Hannah Brower, American Legion $500, Haines Women’s Club Continuing Education $750.