By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
The 2019 Gus Wetter graduates received much advice for the road ahead during the annual spring prom event on May 24th.
Bucking tradition, the 2019 grads did not have a theme or motto for their celebration. Instead of having a theme, the title on this year’s program was ‘Season: 20, Episode:19 , The one where they graduate,’ a play on the television episode descriptions that have infiltrated our everyday language, thanks to the advent of Netflix and binge watching.
The lack of theme or slogan did not take away from any of the messages that were heard by everyone in the audience.
Superintendent Peter Barron was introduced first and brought greetings from the school board, as well as some wisdom.
“Be the best you can for the world,” said Barron.
“Your choices will define who you become.”
School Principal Daram Van Oers took a little more humour with his message to the grads.
“The grads told me that they wanted the speeches short and sweet. Based on the other speeches, I’m the only one who got that note,” laughed Van Oers before continuing on a more serious tone.
“The other teachers have always shared wonderfully positive comments with this group. They’ve always been known for being polite, even when sitting in my office for some reason or other.”
Al Richardson, the Brownfield Youth Pastor, was the keynote speaker for the evening’s program. He spoke to the assembled graduates about keystone habits, monkey jars, and the impact of social media.
“If you make solid keystone habits, other habits will change,” said Richardson.
As part of his discussion on keystone habits, Richardson quoted from United States Admiral William McRaven’s University of Texas commencement address of 2014; “If you wanna change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day, giving you a sense of pride. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never be able to do the big things right. “
The celebration may be over but there is still work to be done. The grads return to class for one more month where they finish off final exams and clean out their lockers for the last time before scattering to their various schools, jobs, and world adventures that await.
Good luck to Trae-Lyn Peach, Ripley Giffin, Hannah Jackson, Jake Van Hienen, Brennen Grice, Spencer Doolage, Nicklaus Tullikopf, Karlos Marshall, Carson Weeks, Sean Wilcox, Dalton Steinwand, Lewis Neilson, Mikenna Schauer, Richelle Roland, Brianne Beverton, Katelyn Larson, Raelene Coupland, Sage Geir, Felicity Mannix, Dayna Kennedy, and Hunter Baldwin, the Gus Wetter graduating class of 2019.