With displays of cultural heritage and cannons of confetti shooting into the air, Ignacio High School's Class of 2017 graduated on Saturday.
Forty-five proud graduates crossed the stage on the school football field to receive diplomas as cheering family and friends sat in the bleachers on the warm, sunny day.
This year's commencement speaker was Jordan Larsen, a math teacher at Ignacio and a Bayfield High School graduate, although that was to be forgiven for the day, noted Lucas Monroe, the graduate introducing him. Monroe also noted that during Larsen's first years teaching at IHS, the students occasionally had to tell him what he was supposed to do in the classroom.
Larsen agreed that he had learned a lot from his kids, then he taught the graduates a lesson, noting that in physics, there is positive or negative energy in every action, known as resonance. Asking the students to picture a small pebble dropping into a glassy lake, he explained every action creates a little ripple. Those ripples can gather until they become "a big tsunami wave," he said.
"Make sure the legacy you leave is a positive resonance," he advised.
Three valedictorians - Rachel Cooper, Bryan Gram and Zach Weinreich - addressed their class.
"By graduating today, our chances of ending up in jail have drastically decreased," Cooper said.
Gram predicted his classmates' impact in the future will be "huge."
"Just wait for us, world!"
Weinreich said it was time for the class, many of whom have been together for the past 13 years of school, to move on into the wider world "and draw our own map."
"Congratulations, Class of 2017!" he exhorted. "We did it!"
Salutatorians Lea Monroe and Tori Archuleta also addressed their class.
Monroe noted that their grade point averages were only a few hundredths of a point lower than those of the valedictorians.
"That makes us the first losers of this academic competition!" she noted with a laugh.
The two also pointed out six things they had learned as a class:
If you're late to first period, bring the teacher breakfast.Building a float? Wait until the last minute so it's really creative.If you're plagiarizing a paper, at least change the name and date on it.If a guy has two girlfriends at the same time, make sure they don't know each other.Want an undefeated powderpuff football team? Be in the class of 2017.And finally, when it's time for a senior prank, make sure the neighbors don't see it, and that everyone is fully clothed by the time the police arrive.Monroe noted the class attended three different high school buildings during their four years at IHS: the old high school campus, the old elementary school while the high school was being renovated and finally, the newly expanded high school campus.
Even while using tiny water fountains and sinks in the old elementary building, "we always seemed to make the best of things," she noted.
Many members of the class of 2017 wore leis and mortarboards with Ute beadwork. Footwear ranged from high heels to flip-flops to cowboy boots and Native American moccasins.
Principal Melanie Taylor proudly noted that while this year's senior class is small, the graduates have earned more than $173,000 in scholarships, and more are still being awarded.
