NU Public holds graduation ceremony

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM--As with many classes past, 230 former New Ulm High School seniors walked across the stage, received their diplomas and their tickets to a new life Friday evening.

The graduating class was the first to hold its commencement exercises in the New Ulm Civic Center, which opened in April, replacing Vogel Arena as the site of the annual rite of passage.

Superintendent Harold Remme told the class that graduation "is a milestone that everyone looks forward to. Usually, that's parents and students."

He recognized Senior High School Principal Dick LaPatka and Assistant Principal David Schmidt, who are retiring after 34 years of teaching and administrating each.

Remme also apologized to the class for not having any snow days this past year.

He likened graduation to his experiences on the farm as a young boy. He said watching students graduate is very much like letting the calves loose from the barn for the first time--after a long period of confinement, they run and jump and kick their heels at their "new-found freedom" but soon a new life begins.

Starting a new life requires four skills, Remme said. First, students must be flexible in order to face challenges. Second, they must have focus and remember who they are and what they represent. Third, they must be ready to compete and fourth, they must polish their communication skills "because success relationships include good communication skills."

Class speaker Julie Edwards reminded her fellow students that the class of 2003 is a family that spent 14,000 hours together, more time than was spent with parents.

Halfway through her speech, Edwards stopped to point out the raffle tickets that were taped under each student's seat. Some of the students got up and turned their chairs over, looking for the hidden numbers. When everyone found theirs, Edwards called the winning number, which was the same number on the back of everyone's ticket.

"You all have the ticket to opportunity, you just need to cash it in," she said.

School board chair Susan Ullery finished the commencement ceremony remarks by reminding students that although graduation from high school is a high milestone, many challenges and responsibilities lie ahead. She began her remarks with a phony note from parents to their graduates, which said, "Enjoy this evening, but tomorrow, we want you to have your bags packed and out the door by 10 a.m. You're an official adult now."

"That's the impression that you get, isn't it?," she said.

Ullery also challenged graduates to make a place for themselves in the world and not to get caught up in the game of life. She also charged them to "figure out what's important and what's not" and reminded them that it's the everyday challenges and how you deal with them that make you an adult.

"Life is not a constant ocean cruise," Ullery said. "It has its ups and its down and a lot of mediocrity."