MONTAGUE — Perhaps it was fitting that Montague High School's first major public event in its new arena ended up being MHS graduation, which was moved from its usual spot in the football stadium to the new gym due to power outages from the thunderstorm that came through town the night before.
It was also a fortunate decision, given that it began raining less than a half hour after the ceremony concluded. But then, nothing could've dampened the Class of 2025's spirits after receiving their long-awaited diplomas.
The themes of the graduation speakers were not new, but that didn't make them any less poignant. The focus was on the hope that the Class of 2025 will make a bright future for itself, and that its members would do so with an individualistic spirit.
As principal Christy Thommen said during her remarks, "Just be you. You can't be anybody else...As you go forth, be bold...but most of all, be you."
The class selected history/geography teacher Tyler Frank to deliver the commencement address, and Frank, after joking that being around Montague students was easily the thing he likes fourth-most about teaching - June, July and August were the top three - shared that focus on the future.
"The
next pages in your life story are blank," Frank said. "But they're already numbered.
Protect your blank pages. Guard them like they're the rarest resource in your life, because they are."
The Montague High School Class of 2025 awaits the beginning of its commencement exercises Friday night in the new MHS arena.
Frank also shared his top 10 favorite quotes from past American presidents. There were many nuggets of wisdom among them, but the one that fit his theme best was the first he presented, via Abraham Lincoln: "The best way to predict your future is to create it."
Senior class president Greta Auch also spoke and had the traditional honor of passing the color staff - a wooden object emblazoned with the Montague Wildcat logo - to junior class president Fletcher Thommen, declaring that the Class of 2026 was the new senior group.
Prior to school board president Brent Raeth conferring the honor of graduation on the Class of 2025, superintendent Jeff Johnson closed out the speakers' portion of the evening by emphasizing finding what you care about, pursuing it, and learning from any failures that come along the way.
"Those who make a difference in the lives of others do so with passion," Johnson said. "Live life with perseverance. Failures are opportunities for growth."
The evening also included a choir performance of the Class of 2025's song, You Raise Me Up by Roger Emerson, and the MHS band performing the famous country staple, Take Me Home, Country Roads.
