LHS bestows diplomas on 118
<p>Louis Cielak, left, and Valedictorian Skyanne Cosgriff during processional.</p>
<p>A very happy soon-to-be graduate Micah Germany during the processional.</p>
<p>Vice Principal Jim Germany and Jolee Holder</p>
Grad Panorama
<p>Graduating with honors, Kaitlyn Reintsma, left and Lisa Rios.</p>
<p>Libby High School 2012 graduate Lisa Rios, with the glasses to prove it.</p>
<p>Patty Rambo adjusts Andrew Smith's mortar board.</p>
<p>Salutatorian Alyssa Walker receives a congratulatory hug from Vice Principal Jim Germany.</p>
<p>Class of 2012 commencement speaker Kirk Broden.</p>
<p>Byron Benefield</p>
<p>Senior Class President Dylan Berget receives a hearty handshake from Principal Rik Rewerts following graduation ceremonies Sunday.</p>
In the words of Libby High’s senior class and commencement speaker Kirk Broden, Sunday’s graduation ceremony at Libby High School was not the end of the world … it was just the beginning.
These words, emblazoned in gold lettering above the stage, served as the backdrop for the 118 graduating Loggers, 28 of whom would graduate with honors cords.
Broden, an engineer at Boeing and a 1983 Libby High grad, gave his humorous speech to what seemed like the entire town in the packed gym.
“If it were up to the Mayans, none of this would really matter,” Broden joked of the supposed predicted end of the world in December. “You’ll be the last class to graduate Libby … so, no pressure.”
After the laughs died, Broden went to on deliver some practical advice to the grads in the form of three bite-size morsels.
“Lesson one: Always ask ‘why am I here?” He said, explaining that if you can’t answer that question, you may not be where you want to be. “Lesson two: Sometimes you need to listen to that little voice inside you. You won’t always make the right choice, but that is why experience is so valuable.”
Broden went on to tell his story, about a student who did relatively well in high school bouncing around in college until he found his calling in building a better airplane. That was the foundation of his third rule: To always strive for working joy, his point being that if you love your work, you can control your life.
Broden’s speech followed those of salutatorian Alyssa Walker and valedictorian Skyanne Cosgriff. Walker quoted country singer Lee Brice’s Love Like Crazy, instructing all of her classmates not to outsmart their common sense.
Cosgriff went left the contemporary, paraphrasing Henry Thoreau’s Walden and quoting Harriet Tubman before belting out her rendition of Martina McBride’s Anyway to an appreciative crowd.
Six graduates, including presiding senior class president Dylan Berget, pulled double duty at the ceremony, grabbing a diploma after playing a few numbers in the LHS band. 10 choir members (and one drummer) did the same.
This just served to validate a beaming Principal Rik Rewerts, who told those gathered Sunday that more than half of the Logger graduates were doing so with a college-prep diploma.
All the graduates wore black robes, with the men donning blue sashes and the women gold. Honors graduates wore either silver or gold cords around their necks.
Before he was done speaking, Broden posed a question to the antsy graduates.
“It’s your beginning,” he said. “So, tell me, what are you doing here?”