The Becker High School Class of 2014 crossed the stage in the high school gymnasium and received their diplomas last Friday night amid the traditional pomp and circumstance and some new procedures that gave the proceedings a definitely different look from past ceremonies.
The program got underway with the performance of Elgar Ployhar’s “Fanfare and Processional” by the BHS Wind Ensemble, directed by Jessica Gilbertson. Once the graduates were standing in their positions, the Honor Guard from Becker American Legion Post 193 conducted the Presentation of the Colors, followed by the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” by class president Abigail Johnson.
Becker Superintendent Dr. Stephen Malone and BHS Principal Sandra Logrono then welcomed the audience members to the graduation program, after which Logrono introduced the first pair of student speakers for the evening, seniors Mikki Berscheit and Alyson Fisher, whose theme was “The Five W’s” needed for post-graduate success.
The Wind Ensemble then played Rossano Galante’s “Beyond the Horizon”, again directed by Jessica Gilbertson, after which Logrono introduced the final two student speakers for the evening, seniors Alyssa Olson and Angelica Anderson, whose theme was “Our Colorful Picture”.
The Class of 2014 was the first in Becker which did not designate a valedictorian or salutatorian to address their classmates at graduation. The district had decided to make the change several years ago, Logrono said, so as to have an opportunity to honor a larger number of students with high academic achievement levels at graduation.
After the speeches, the high school choir directed by Gretchen Bordson performed Teena Chinn’s “At the Beginning”. Senior student council communications officer Kendra Buettner then introduced the 2014 inductees into the BHS Graduate Hall of Fame, Jason Pfingsten, Class of 1991, and Mark Kolbinger, Jr., Class of 1990 (See related story).
Following the induction ceremony, diplomas and exemplary scholar awards were presented by Malone and Becker Board of Education Chairman Aaron Jurek. When completed, the Class of 2014 was formally presented to the audience by Logrono and class president Johnson, who first instructed her classmates to switch the tassels on their mortarboards to the “graduated” position.
A note on the program page listing the members of the Class of 2014 said: “Remembering and missing our friends and classmates Dylan Britt Aaseby and Bryan Charlie Larson.”
After the Honor Guard retired the Colors, the new graduates exited the gymnasium to the strains of Ralph Vaughn William’s “Fanfare and Recessional” and met an excited throng of friends and family on the lawn at BHS.
The All-Night Graduation Party began across the street at the Becker Community Center at 9:30 p.m.
