Excitingly running, a little handsome dude with chocolate all over his face vigorously waves and simply says, "Hi," as he continues on his journey. He soon meets up with a little girl in mismatched clothing, smiling ear to ear, with her wavy hair blowing in the wind, walking down the road talking aimlessly about their plans for the day.
Now let’s fast forward to April 30th, 2010. Graduation decorations are elegantly placed and parents, teachers, and friends alike are dressed in their best clothing while two, who were once elementary students themselves, wait anxiously in the library for the last few minutes of being "just" high school students to tick by.
Jeremy Salmon and April Hostetter, the Igiugig School Graduating class of 2010. Honored guests Ty Mase, Superintendent of Lake and Peninsula School District (LPSD), Rick Luthi - Chief Operations Officer of LPSD, Susan Edwards - LPSD Accountant, Jason Bickling - head teacher, Mark Battaion - Elementary teacher and, Kristin Hathhorn - teacher, friend, and Commencement Speaker expressed their congratulations to Jeremy and April.
After seven years of teaching and guiding the students of Igiugig, Kristin steps up to the podium to express her congratulations to her former students; she joked that this must be payback for all of the years she has encouraged her students to engage in public speaking.
Before receiving their hard-earned High School diplomas Jeremy and April step up to deliver their last high school public speech. Jeremy begins with a quote from Henry Ford, "A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight train, but if he has university education, he may steal the entire railroad." Jeremy interrupted this quote and applied it to himself, believing that with a good education, the possibilities are endless. “We work hard and strive to do our best.”
Many people in Jeremy's life including his Mom, Julia Salmon, or all the years of cooking, cleaning, and making sure his homework was done every day. Jeremy states, "I know I would be nowhere near where am today without all of your love and support." Continuing on, "I would like to thank my gram, aunties, my sisters and brother for always being there to comfort and support me in my time of need. And thank you Mark and Kristin. I know known you for almost seven years now, and with those seven years you have both worked so hard to make sure I always did my best work, you make sure all of my work was done in time, and you taught me to never give up. Thanks to you, I learned education was the main priority in life, and it is because of you, I am graduating from here today." Jeremy continues his expression to "the whole community, for support our education since we were young and for giving us a safe environment to grow up in."
In closure, one of his idols he looks up to the most, is one man, "who is no longer here with us, my dad. He taught me to respect others and my family, to always try my hardest, and to put my education first. If it weren’t for his constant lectures about the importance of my education, I would not be the person I am today. My best memory of him would be the time Jon and I had to barge over to Kokhanok. We had a late start from Pile Bay due to the time consuming task of driving the equipment over the Pile Bay road. We were told to go to Kokhanok, where my dad was going to meet us and fly us home. Now, we didn’t reach Kokhanok until 10 that night, and it was beginning to get dark. My dad, who had no desire to stay the night, rushed us to unload. When all was done, we had to now get to the airport. Having no vehicle, my dad decided to drive the loader to Martin’s, and we began running from there. I will never forget the sight of my dad trying to run as fast as he could, to avoid a night in Kokhanok. As Jon and I began laughing, he began swearing and telling us to keep running. In the end, we made it home just as the last bit of light disappeared over the mountains. From that experience, I understood why my dad always rushed us, even if we had to wait afterwards, for it is better to rush and wait, than to wait and rush."
April Hostetter begins with one of her favorite quotes by Sir Isaac Newton, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
April goes on and states in her speech:
"So many of you are giants to me. First of all, mom and dad, from the very beginning you taught me to always do my best in academics and anything else I wished to pursue. Although I haven’t always lived up to that expectation, you have always been there to catch me and encourage me to do better.
You were there too, Kristin. You made me realize I need to live up to my full potential—always. That I should never shy away from my responsibilities. You were there with me, through thick and thin.
Some of the people who helped me get through the years are not here. Cal Cox, the school counselor, helped me with so much more than school. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to get through the years. Joann Lester, Ms. Lester, taught me so much about leadership and commitment.
Christina—you’re one of the most practical and get-it-done person I know. Your humor and hard work has inspired me to do my best. And your kids are cute. I’m gonna miss you. You have to continue Facebooking about Aiden, Keilan, and Danni’s recent adventures.
To all of my friends: sometimes I forget that people need to have fun. Alicia, and so many others, you’ve always been there to remind me."
Jeremy Salmon will be attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, majoring in Business Management. Jeremy chose his desired major because while growing up in Igiugig he has worked for many small businesses and would like to know how to run one of his own.
April Hostetter once desired to leave Alaska and discover new worlds. Instead she plans on attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks, to learn more about her culture and satisfy her curiosity about her heritage.
Two weeks of preparation were put in for the next event in honor of the Igiugig 2010 graduates: native dancing, lead by Stephen Blanchett. This was made possible through the Artists in School grant by the Alaska State Council for the Arts. Many thanks to Stephen and to the grant for providing a branch of cultural understanding for Igiugig's present and future leaders. Marks class, Mr. Bicklings class, and group of community members performed with a passion to the steady beat of the drum which is the soul of Native culture and understanding.
After congratulating the Igiugig Class of 2010 and having a wonderful celebration of Native culture, family and friends end the celebration with deserts and wishing Jeremy and April a successful life after High School.
