by Joni Astrup
Associate Editor
Elk River High School valedictorian Jordan Haack advised his classmates to remember what they learned in high school — but he wasn’t talking about every little fact and theorem.
Valedictorian Jordan Haack spoke to the Class of 2015. Photos by Erik Jacobsen
“Remember how you have been educated in high school. You’ve learned how to interact with other people, you’ve learned how to follow directions and also think outside the box. You’ve learned how to cooperate and to collaborate. You’ve learned how to make friends and, most importantly, you’ve learned how to learn new things,” Haack said during his speech at commencement Friday, June 5, at Elk River High School.
He urged his classmates to use what they learned in high school to make good decisions the rest of their lives.
On a lighter note, Haack put his math skills to work and figured that he and his classmates had each spent 4,800 hours in high school. In that time, they have had about 20 different teachers, 400 classmates and 720 school lunches, he said.
“Speaking of school lunches, assuming that you had chicken nuggets every Tuesday since kindergarten, you would have eaten 175 pounds of the school’s chicken nuggets,” he said, as the audience laughed.
Class President Ryan Herrboldt addressed the graduates.
Senior class president Ryan Herrboldt also spoke. He urged his classmates to not waste a single day.
“Do not be afraid to try something new,” he advised. Join a chess club, learn to cook, start a garden or build a bird feeder, he suggested.
“Try something new, because in 20 years from now we will not remember that report we wrote for our boss or those tweets from Kim Kardashian. However, we will remember all those times we boldly challenged ourselves and tried something new,” he said.
The graduation ceremony opened with the processional by the Elk River High School band, a solemn presentation of the colors by the Elk River Police Department Honor Guard and an introduction by Principal Terry Bizal.
The concert choir sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and Superintendent Mark Bezek and faculty representative Karl Sagan also spoke.
The Concert Choir performed “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Bezek told graduates about the power of choices.
He talked about his own father, the son of Slovenian immigrants. His father was the youngest of four children, and it was assumed that he would be pulled out of school to work on the farm like his siblings before him. But one evening in 1937 the local school superintendent and football coach visited Bezek’s grandparents and urged them to see that their son graduated from high school.
“On that night, just another night like any other, my grandpa and grandma made a choice. They chose to make sure my father graduated from high school, and that’s exactly what my father did,” Bezek said. Today his children include two doctors, an engineer, and a nurse, and most of his grandchildren have advanced degrees.
Karl Sagan, faculty representative, gave a humorous speech at the Elk River 2015 commencement.
Karl Sagan used a selfie stick to take a selfie with the class of 2015.
Bezek told the graduates that the choices they make, now and in the future, will have a profound effect not just on them but on their siblings, children, grandchildren and generations to come.
Sagan shared his Class of 2015 Top 10 list. When he finished, he told the seniors that he would miss them. He said the class is caring, compassionate and amazing.
“This is not goodbye forever,” he said. “It’s just goodbye for now. You will all have wonderful adventures. You will all have stories to tell. Someday, I want to hear them all.”
Assistant Principal Ken Jordan donned a pirate hat and told the graduates that though the seas are rough, they will make it. He gave them a parting salute.
Once the speakers completed their talks, Assistant Principal Ken Jordan accepted the class.
He said each graduating class is special in its own way. He described the Class of 2015 as “varied and respectful.”
He told graduates that challenges and hard work build character. “(They) teach us that even though the way can be difficult, those that keep going are the ones that will achieve the most and make the most out of their lives,” he said.
School Board Director Tony Walter accepted the class. Counselors presented the seniors, who walked across the stage and received their diplomas from school board members.
One poignant moment came when Aaron Dwyer accepted his diploma and his classmates gave him a standing ovation. Dwyer was diagnosed with lymphoma in December 2013.