Considering her fellow Class of 2023 students, Sequim High senior Amelia Pozernick said the word “resilience” came to mind.
“Like that flower that grows in pure cement,” said Pozernick, looking to her classmates and over the wind-swept crowd at Friday evening’s SHS commencement ceremony.
“We are unequivocally ourselves.”
Parents, staff, friends and other supporters cheered on about 165 graduating high school seniors at stáʔčəŋ Stadium, enjoying clear skies over Myron Teterud Field on June 16.
This year’s graduating class is Sequim High’s smallest in at least a decade, and several speakers mentioned the resiliency of a high school cohort who took the brunt of COVID-19 pandemic disruptions in the middle of their high school careers.
Pozernick, who along with Hannah Bates, Mia Coudriet and Calem Klinger represented the school as this year’s class valedictorians, challenged her classmates to consider, “What is your big gift to give the world?” while Bates urged her classmates to take notice of the surroundings in their lives and “to appreciate each and every small and beautiful moment.”
Klinger roused his classmates further: “Force your will upon the universe,” he charged.
“Don’t compare yourself to others. Remember that whatever you do in life, it’s only you versus you.
“Don’t get frustrated when times get hard; think of it as a blessing. The most valuable results were only valuable because they were hard to achieve.”
Faculty-elected student speakers were Kayli Fukunaga and Hi’ilei Robinson, and the student-elected speaker was Rae Douglas.
Robinson, who transferred from Hawaii to Sequim in the middle of her high school career, urged her classmates to be kind, just as those students and teachers were with her when she moved to the area.
“[Being kind] always leads you to success and the right people to be around,” Robinson said.
Sequim schools superintendent Regan Nickels added that while these students are moving on from high school, they take with them plenty of support from the Sequim community.
“People are rooting for you — in this moment and beyond,” Nickels said.
“Our community legacy is with you on the way.”
Scholarships, scholarships
See a full list of scholarships for graduating Sequim High School seniors online at sequimgazette.com and in the June 28 edition.
Class-elected speaker Rae Douglas offers her speech at Friday’s Sequim High School graduation ceremony.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Mia Coudriet, one of Sequim High School’s four valedictorians, addresses her classmates at Friday evenings commencement ceremony.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Graduating senior Jonathan Bowden receives his diploma from school board president Eric Pickens at the Sequim High School commencement ceremony on June 16.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Shavine Mills offers fellow seniors congrats as he accepts his diploma at Sequim High School’s graduation ceremony on June 16.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Hannah Bates is all smiles as she receives her diploma from school board member Michael Rocha Friday evening. Bates was wearing the same sunglasses her brother wore to graduation.
Sequim Gazette photoS by Michael Dashiell Graduating senior Ayden Humphries gets a hug from school board member Patrice Johnston at the Sequim High School commencement ceremony on June 16.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Ruby Coulson gathers her graduation sash and regalia as, despite some windy conditions, she and more than 160 classmates accepted diplomas at Sequim High School’s commencement ceremony on June 16.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Hi’ilei Robinson offers a parting wave as she and fellow Sequim High seniors accept diplomas at the school’s graduation ceremony on June 16.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Brandon Linson and fellow members of Sequim High Schools’ Class of 2023 enjoy commencement ceremonies on June 16.
