As with any high school graduation, including the dozens of local ceremonies this week and last, Lee High School and East Lee Alternative School seniors celebrated with fiends and families after of year of overcoming hardships including the pandemic.
But some of the stories of positive outlook despite hardships overcome relayed by members of the “Legendary” Class of 2021 were extraordinary — and none more so than that of Wilson ‘Rocky’ Lopez-Ramos.
Wilson ‘Rocky’ Lopez-Ramos. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“Rocky” may not have been one of the East Lee “Top Three Students” — those were Ashia Hernandez, Eliot Argueta-Rebolledo and Santiago Miguel-Garcia — but Lopez-Ramos was the most honored, chosen to be the Class of 2021 Representative/Speaker while also gaining the GLEA Scholarship and the Principal’s Award.
“This year was very difficult because most of it was online,” Lopez-Ramos said to WKTV on the night of the graduation, May 27. “I think the hardest part was to focus in (that) environment … for us this was our toughest year because we have to push ourselves to graduate. To graduate on time and graduate with our friends.”
The Godfrey-Lee Public School’s East Lee Campus is the district’s alternative school for students that are not on track for graduation. There are smaller class sizes and additional supports to help students find success and graduate on time.
College may or may not be in the future for Lopez-Ramos, he said, as he already works in automobile repair, loves doing so, and plans to open his own repair shop. He said studying at Grand Rapids Community College is possible.
And while he credited several of his teachers for helping him, pushing him to graduate, he gives special credit to his girlfriend — “She is graduating with me this year. She reminds me everyday to be proud, whether I do well or not. She says: ‘Please do your best. I’m always here for you if you need me’.”
And what advice would he give to others who are struggling to finish high school?
“Think about what it would mean to their family. … Do your best to focus. Find guidance. Don’t be afraid to ask.”
Other top grads, other good advice
While the Lee graduation ceremony included more than 100 Lee high students, several were given special honors and several offered their advice to their fellow graduates.
Regan Mockerman was not only the Salutatory, and addressed the crowd, but also gained several other awards including the English Language Arts department award and the Si Jelte Award given to a female athlete. (The top male athlete honor, the Harold Sabin Award, was given to Gerardo Montañez.)
Maybe Mockerman’s highest hurdle to overcome, however, was the expectations of being the daughter of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Board of Education president Eric Mockerman.
Then again, the senior Mockerman, in his address to the crowd, admitted that he “was not the smartest” member of his household.
The valedictorian of the class was Christian Loredo-Duran, who talked about not only the challenge of the classroom but of life.
“If you ever get knocked down, but are given a second chance, get back up quickly,” he said in his address. “Take advantage of the opportunity you are given. … To the class of 2021, our life is there in front of us.”
Class president Alfredo Medina-Ortega, in his address to the crowd, also touched on the support he gained both from home and his advice for the other graduates.
“I am beyond grateful to have siblings who love me for who I am …,” he said. ““The scariest part of this evening is knowing that it is actually just a beginning … Be the person who makes you happy.”
For Wyoming resident Danielle Burzynski there was no pressing need for her to finish high school and get a diploma.
Danielle Burznski on her graduation day this past December. (Supplied/KDL)
“I left school and got a job and I had been at my job for 22 years,” Burzynski said. “So I do not have the need to finish or go back.”
It was something she thought about, but she became a single mother and between raising a family and working, there never seemed to be the time.
Burzynski is not alone, according to Kent District Library (KDL) Librarian and Outreach Specialist Sara Magnuson. About 35,000 Kent County residents have not completed high school with most of them coming from underserved communities. It part of the reason that last year the KDL rolled out a new offering, the Career Online High School, designed for students to earn an accredited high school diploma as well as a workforce readiness certificate.
“We were looking at ways to help build community financial stability,” Magnuson said. “One of the first steps is you can not achieve career advancement in work without a diploma.”
Wanting to give her daughter inspiration to finish her high school studies, Burzynski decided in 2019 to go back and get her diploma. She quickly discovered there were many options making her feel that is was “OK to go back and finish.” With the knowledge that she still could get that diploma, Burzynski began exploring those options, settling on the Career High Online School.
“It was wonderful,” Burzynski said. “I could do it online at my own pace and in my free time. It was about two weeks per semester and I was doing about a week per semester.”
Danielle Burzynski celebrates with KDL staff, family, and friends. (Supplied/KDL)
Started in 2007, the Career Online High School program, which is part of the nation’s first private, accredited online school district Smart Horizons Career Online Education, is 100 percent online. Students access course materials from anywhere at anytime. Also, as an accredited high school program, students can transfer previously earned high school credits.
The key aspect that KDL liked about the Career Online High School program was the workforce readiness certificate, Magnuson said.
“It gives the students several different options,” she said. “They could enter a home health care study (that would give them the background to successful enter the certified nurse assistant or CNA program0 or go into the office management career field. It gives them the background knowledge and helps potential employers who are considering hiring them that they have the knowledge in the field they are pursing.”
Each student accepted into the program is assigned an academic coach who works with the Career Online High School provider, Magnuson said.
While Burzynski already had a career, the program worked well for her needs of flexibility to complete the remaining 12 credits she needed to graduate, which she did in December 2019.
“I can’t even described the feeling when I finished, how proud I was of myself,” she said. “Now it is one less thing to be done.”
The Career Online High School program is around $99 a month; however, KDL is offering scholarships for up to 25 Kent County residents. To be considered, a candidate must be a resident of Kent County, have a KDL library card and fill out an online assessment on the KDL website. Prospective students will be contacted by their local KDL branch library and given a link to a two-week prerequisite course. Those who pass the prerequisite course with a score of 70 percent or above will then be interviewed in person by their libraries to determine if they will receive a scholarship.
Magnuson said scholarships are not guaranteed as the program has to be the right fit for the student. If it is not, Magnuson said KDL does try to work with the student to find the best option for them. KDL works with several organizations that offer GED and high school completion programs such as the Kent ISD which among its offerings has Project NorthStar. Project NorthStar works with both in-school and out-of-school students looking to become self-sufficient by getting a diploma or GED and gaining job skills. Some of the other organizations that KDL works with are Sparta Adult Education, Rockford Adult Education, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, Jubilee Jobs and the Literacy Center of West Michigan.
“It has gone extremely well,” Magnuson said of the Career Online High School program, adding that there are about 17 students who have received scholarships and three that have graduated with several others almost done. Because of its success, she said KDL will be offering the program again this year and has 25 scholarships available.
For more about the Career Online High School program, visit the KDL.org website, click on Services and then Adult Services or click here.
Wyoming Public Schools held a WHS Senior 11 Night Celebration Parade Monday, June 15, and WKTV was there. (WKTV)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
As part of its effort to recognize the Wyoming High School Senior Class of 2020 despite the COVID-19 school shutdown in the spring, Wyoming high will hold a special graduation ceremony on Tuesday, July 28.
While the ceremony at Wyoming High School will be accessible in-person for only 2020 seniors, and limited family and friends, it will be available on radio and on a Facebook livestream feed with video provided by WKTV Community media.
“We are excited to recognize and celebrate the Wyoming High School graduating class of 2020,” Josh Baumbach, Wyoming High School principal, said to WKTV. “Our seniors missed out on some pretty significant events this year as a result of the pandemic and it’s important to us to do what we can to provide a ceremony for our seniors and their families to attend.
“Although this ceremony will be different due to restrictions on gatherings and other social distancing protocols that will be in place, it will be an opportunity for the seniors to cross the stage and celebrate with their family and we hope this will provide some closure as the graduating class of 2020 moves forward to the next stage in their lives.”
WKTV was also on-hand when Wyoming Public Schools held its Wyoming High School Senior 11 Night Celebration Parade June 15. See a story and video here.
The planned July 28 ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. with welcome and opening remarks and speeches.
“Participants can listen to the speeches with their families in their vehicles on the radio or via live stream,” Baumbach said. “After the speeches, each senior will be able to walk into the stadium with their immediate family to cross the stage and pick up their diploma cover. Parents and family can capture the moment with a video or a picture.”
The ceremony can be viewed using this live stream link. The audio of the ceremony will also be available on 94.1 FM station.
The ceremony will include individual students walking across a stage in cap and gown to get a diploma cover. Once all student names have been called, and all students are in their cars, students will step back out of their car and the entire Wyoming High School graduating class of 2020 will be recognized and will be asked to flip their tassel.
Baumbach also said the event is also a great example of cooperation and collaboration within the Wyoming Public Schools system and with other school districts.
“We appreciate the collaboration with Grandville High School and Godwin Heights High School as we planned our event,” Baumbach said. “Additionally, special thanks goes out to our (WPS) Superintendent Craig Hoekstra and the many wonderful staff members that are part of our high school and district staff that helped step up to support this planning.”
Two weeks before the start of her freshman year at Godwin High School, Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez landed in the emergency room with abdominal pain. Her mom was with her while they awaited test results. Ahnaka believed she was experiencing some stomach issues, something she dealt with as a child. When the doctor walked in, Ahnaka and her mom heard the unexpected: “Your daughter’s pregnant.”
Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez uses any breaks in the school day to work on homework, so she can spend more time after school with her daughter, Izzy, and work as a supervisor at Chow Hound
Ahnaka cried. Her mom cried. They were scared, worried. As the oldest of three siblings, Ahnaka felt she had disappointed her family. She was a good student with a bright future. She was supposed to be a role model. She texted her boyfriend, Joseph Torres, who thought she was joking. It took her mom calling his mom to convince him it was true.
“I had all these thoughts running through my head: ‘Is my boyfriend going to stay? Is he going to help? Can I do this? Am I going to be able to finish school?’”
For Ahnaka, the answer to all of the above was “yes.” But for many teens, that is not the case. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pregnancy and birth contribute significantly to high school dropout rates among female students, with about 50 percent of teen mothers receiving a high school diploma by age 22, compared to 90 percent for those who do not give birth.
Not only is Ahnaka raising her daughter, but she’s also slated to graduate 34th in her class this May with a 3.4 GPA and a recent induction to the National Honors Society to her name. The journey has not been easy, Ahnaka said. Sleepless nights awake with a teething baby followed by a full day of school is not for the faint of heart. But it has been worth it.
5…6…7…Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez counts steps with her daughter Izabella, 3
Fitting Trimesters into Semesters
Ahnaka remembers how torn she felt as she prepared to begin high school.
“At first, everyone was disappointed– which is normal. I was 14 when I found out. A 14-year-old who’s just going to school, who hasn’t even had her teenage years yet. I feel like my family thought I would would just throw the baby on them. That’s what happens sometimes (with young moms), I never wanted them to feel like she was their responsibility.”
Some friends suggested adoption, but Ahnaka knew it wasn’t for her. She would figure out a way to raise her baby and, she decided, graduate with her class.
“I created her, I had her. It’s my and her dad’s responsibility. I wanted to give her the best life possible.”
Ahnaka completed her first half of freshman year at Godwin. Then, wary of both the social ramifications of being pregnant at 14 — the looks, the comments — and the thought that she might miss too much school to stay on track for graduation, Ahnaka chose to spend the second semester of her freshman year learning via the online platform MySchool@Kent, offered by Kent ISD.
School counselor Tish Stevenson has known Ahnaka for four years. She said she was impressed with the way Ahnaka and her mother requested a meeting early in her freshman year to hatch a plan for Ahnaka to stay in school. She was unsure, however, if the plan would work.
“Up to that point I had not had good experiences with online learning. Very few kids had the self-control and family support necessary to work independently,” said Stevenson. “I worried because not only would this girl have to work on her own, but it was also her first year in high school and she had plenty of other things to concern herself with.”
But Ahnaka had school staff and her family in her corner. “My mom was a big supporter and so was my grandma.”
On March 4, 2016, Izabella, or “Izzy” as she is called, arrived — 7 pounds, 12 ounces and sporting a head of dark hair. That’s when everything changed.
“As time went by, it was getting more exciting and the sad part was over. When she came, I feel like that’s when everybody wasn’t upset anymore. How can you be upset when you have a gift right here?” said Ahnaka, referring to Izzy.
Ahnaka completed her freshman year through MySchool, impressing her counselor.
“I was delightfully surprised at the fact that she passed all her classes but one. She was able to independently complete her work, mostly unsupervised and at a very difficult, intense time in her young life,” said Stevenson. “I knew right then that Ahnaka was an exceptional individual.”
Ahnaka knew that being in the classroom would motivate her to succeed. She returned to Godwin in the fall, relying on family and friends to watch Izzy for the first few years.
Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez and her daughter Izabella, 3, outside the Godwin Heights home where they live
Bringing Up Baby
It didn’t take long for Ahnaka to realize the enormity of the sacrifice she was making.
“At first, after I had her, I was very depressed and a little sad and lonely,” she said. “All my friends are going out, hanging out at the mall, having fun. And I’m inside and I don’t ever leave. It was upsetting at first.”
Looking back, she said, “I wouldn’t change it. I would want to be with my daughter. I spent most of my time with her and that’s time that I can’t get back.”
Once school was under way, the work was relentless. Sometimes, Ahnaka would be awake almost an entire night, especially when Izzy was teething or sick, then she would spend almost eight hours at school followed by time with Izzy, homework and another sleepless night.
Whenever friends would tell her it would probably be OK to stay home after a sleepless night, she disagreed. “I can’t miss school because I am tired. If I do, what will I do when I need to miss classes to take her to the doctor or because she’s sick? That’s not a reason for me. It’s not an excuse. You always have enough time; you just have to manage it wisely.”
Jasmine Gonzalez has been friends with Ahnaka since they were in sixth-grade. She said she gives her friend lots of credit for all she does, and is inspired by her ability to juggle everything on her plate. “She makes it look way easy,” said Jasmine.
“No excuses,” is something Ahnaka says often.
Teacher Kelly Gray taught Ahnaka in 10th- and 11th-grade Spanish, and watched her blossom. She showed up consistently, asked good questions, and conquered her fear of public speaking to present in front of the class like a pro, said Gray.
“Ahnaka had a full plate with raising a daughter, who at the time was less than a year old. Sometimes Ahnaka would come to school tired due to lack of sleep,” said Gray. “However, she never used being too busy as an excuse.”
As Izzy grew, Ahnaka became concerned with her daughter’s learning. She says she often feared that Izzy would be behind because she wasn’t with her all day. They’d spend their evenings together singing songs, learning letters, counting stairs. Izzy would see Ahnaka doing homework and would “help” — in the form of scribbles.
“Izzy left you a note,” Ahnaka would tell her teachers when turning in her work.
Ahnaka said it’s those little interactions that mean so much: “Even if it’s not five hours that I could give her – even if it’s just two minutes counting the steps as you go down them – they remember that.”
While learning all she can in school, Ahnaka credits her mother, Danniele Lucchesi, for teaching her how to be a mom. Her support, said Ahnaka, helped make raising Izzy and getting a diploma a reality.
Ahnaka, Izzy, and a wolf
Meeting Deadlines, Heading to the Finish Line
While infants live on their own terms, students do not.
“I’ve never had a teacher who told me that I ‘couldn’t’ – or try to pity me,” said Ahnaka. “I have the same due dates as everybody else. I want to be treated like everyone else. I’m grateful that my teachers treated me equal and pushed me harder.”
As she finishes the last few weeks of high school, Ahnaka is staying focused. She drops Izzy, now 3 and potty-trained, off at her new daycare at 7 a.m., then picks up Joseph, her boyfriend of nearly five years, and they head to school together. In the evenings, Ahnaka works at Chow Hound, where she was recently promoted to supervisor. Again, there’s always the fear of missing out on time with Izzy, but she knows her daughter is in good hands.
“When I leave for work, she’ll wave and say, “Bye mom, I love you!’” said Ahnaka.
Ahnaka plans to enroll in Grand Rapids Community College, a choice she made because it will allow her to live at home with her daughter. She has already earned credits toward college through dual enrollment, and intends to study nursing, a decision influenced by her experience of having many compassionate and supportive nurses when she had Izzy at Spectrum Health.
“Ahnaka’s claim to fame is her consistency and the very high standards she has always adhered to for herself,” said Stevenson, citing her straight-A and A- record for 10th, 11th, and 12th-grades. “She is dual-enrolled at GRCC and always, always, always takes care of business. Plenty of others would use early motherhood as an excuse to take it a little easier at school. And rightfully so! But instead, Ahnaka has used motherhood as motivation to excel.”
Ahnaka said her drive to succeed comes from many place — from the people who she felt she had let down, and who doubted she’d graduate. It comes from the people who were by her side, and encouraged her to succeed. Mostly, it comes from Izzy.
“Going home and seeing her smile motivates me,” said Ahnaka. “I want to do everything I can for her.”
“She does an amazing job of what she does,” said boyfriend Joseph, who is also graduating this year.
Ahnaka is excited to think that when she walks across that stage May 22 and flips the tassel on her mortarboard, Izzy will be there to see it.
“I know she doesn’t have the words to say it, but I know she can feel that I am doing this for her.”
Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez helps her daughter Izabella, 3, put on shoes before heading outside.
Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez watches as her daughter Isabella flies a toy around their Godwin Heights home.
Ahnaka Ortiz-Rodriguez listens as her daughter, Izzy, 3, tells her how to operate the Minnie Mouse cash register after receiving coins.
Fifteen inmates in the inaugural Calvin Prison Initiative class earned their associate’s degrees at Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan. (Photo courtesy Calvin College)
A gymnasium filled with moms and dads, sisters and brothers, administrators and teachers. Men seated in a couple of rows, dressed in black caps and gowns. Their smiles only contained by their ears. The room filled with jubilation, and hope.
It’s a familiar scene this time of year. But, not here. At least, not yet.
Peer out a small rectangular window and you quickly realize why. Twenty yards from the podium stands a 20-foot tall fence, wrapped in barbed wire.
Open doors
“We’ve embarked on a lot of firsts these past few years, we know it, those who work here know it, you guys certainly know it,” said Heidi Washington, the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections.
This first? A commencement ceremony inside Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan. And it’s part of another first – the Calvin Prison Initiative—a program that offers 20 inmates each year an opportunity to begin pursuing a bachelor’s degree in ministry leadership. It’s the type of program not happening anywhere else in the state, and in few places across the country. On Monday, 15 students from the first cohort earned their associate’s degrees.
“This first group behind me, literally took the stonings and they made the sacrifices to get this program up and running,” said DeWayne Burton, warden at Handlon Correctional Facility, during Monday’s Commencement ceremony. “Remember, when we started this program there was no manual to refer to. Basically you [graduates] helped us develop a blueprint for how to run a college program inside a prison.”
A blueprint, and a vision
That blueprint was developed through collaboration among Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary faculty and staff, students at Handlon, and leaders in the Michigan Department of Corrections.
That blueprint has unleashed a powerful vision, replacing despair with hope … radical hope.
“We humans are sustained by hope. It is the link between our past and our future, and when there is no future, there is no hope,” said Cheryl Brandsen, provost of Calvin College during the 2018 Commencement Address at Handlon.
“The book of Jeremiah tells the story about a despairing people who had lost hope,” said Brandsen. “Jeremiah wrote them a hard letter: Look, you are going to be here for a long time. 70 years, in fact. Don’t listen to false prophets who are trying to make you feel good by promising a speedy release. It’s not going to happen. So, what should you do? Settle down. Build houses. Plant gardens. Make a life. You will die in captivity but your children will not. Yes, you will weep when you remember your former lives, but don’t weep as those who have no hope. In fact, pray for this strange country, and seek the welfare of this city. I do have a plan for your future that will give you hope. But the plan is not one of going home right now. It is to stay put and prosper. If you know the rest of the story, the exiles did that, they formed new lives in strange places, grasping onto the radical hope that God had in mind: a future for their nation and their children.”
Promoting the welfare of the city
Brandsen then shared a poignant line from Calvin’s new vision statement, approved by the board of trustees earlier this month, which intentionally echoes the Jeremiah passage: “Calvin University will be animated by a Reformed Christian faith that seeks understanding and promotes the welfare of the city and the healing of the world.”
The inmates in the Calvin Prison Initiative program—many of whom are serving life sentences—have now found purpose through a Christ-centered education; they’ve found hope as the antidote to despair.
“I was arrested eight months after graduating from high school,” said Michael Duthler, who provided the student reflection at the ceremony. “I had an idea of what education was but I didn’t connect it to vocation, this idea of being a prime citizen. The two ideas were as far apart as heaven was from earth, but now are very much a part of how I understand my role on earth on my way to heaven. “
And when students like Duthler understand that God’s Kingdom is not confined by anything, that all square inches of creation are in play, it opens doors that aren’t limited by physical space.
“What began for me with an acceptance letter to CPI has formed me into the man who I am today and is inextricably bound with how I see myself in the future, someone who desires to break in God’s Kingdom, be that agent of renewal, to restore shalom, by sharing my education with others, by living out my vocation in a way that glorifies and magnifies God and allows his presence to be known in whatever sphere I touch,” said Duthler.
Living as prime citizens
Living as prime citizens takes courage, and as Duthler says, it is understood and developed within community. He cites examples of professors volunteering to teach two classes (instead of the required one) to allow for more interaction with students, or one professor driving up to Handlon on Christmas Eve to deliver semester grades; he recalls tutors patiently pouring over papers and providing correction or simply words of encouragement; and fellow peers who organize study groups and make themselves available to answer questions and have deep conversations.
“Since you guys have taken the lead, others have followed and guess what, others will continue to follow,” said Burton. “You graduates have also displayed the ethics that support the values that Calvin College has. People look at what you do and not what you say. Values are words, ethics are actions. As you continue to demonstrate values through your actions, the ethical culture at this facility will continue to change. One of the other things you gentleman are displaying is a solid reputation for Calvin College and the Michigan Department of Corrections … If you guys continue with this not only will this program be the best in the country, you guys will be successful and will be the best versions that you can be of yourselves.”
Reimagining what’s possible
While the program was started inside one correctional facility, with one group of men, the vision for its impact goes well beyond the fences of Handlon.
“I was listening to the provost and that wonderful speech,” said Washington. “She talked about how Calvin changed its vision statement and talks about the welfare of the city … and I thought how as the director of the department of corrections I should be concerned about the welfare of the department, the welfare of that city, the big department of corrections. And I’m here to tell you that this department of corrections and this administration is very concerned about that. So, whether it’s the Calvin initiative or the vocational village or the second vocational village or the third one or the many of the other things that we are doing to help people be successful, to help give people hope that there is a future for themselves when they leave here and even if they aren’t leaving here to help make this city a better place, we are committed to doing that, and we are committed to doing that with our partners.”
As the 15 graduates move their tassles from right to left, hear their names read from the podium, shake hands and receive their diplomas, those barbed-wire fences sitting 20 yards to their left are no longer barriers to hope.
“When I think of radical hope I think of you students, perhaps thinking at one time that your current status limited what you hoped for, until now, when the unimaginable is proving itself imaginable,” said Brandsen.
“When I think of radical hope, I think of Warden Burton and other administrators here who had the courage to imagine a different kind of future. ‘Unimaginable, until it isn’t.’”
More than 1,700 students will be graduating from high schools in Kentwood and Wyoming during the next couple of weeks. Here is a breakdown of when some of the local graduation ceremonies are taking place.
Tuesday, May 22
Wyoming High School has 275 students graduating. Graduation is at Grand Rapids First, 2100 44th St. SW, at 7 p.m.
Godfrey’s Lee High School has about 150 students graduating. Graduation is at Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest Ave. SW, at 7 p.m. For the school’s top ten, click here.
Wednesday May 23
Godwin Heights High School has 144 students graduating. Graduation is at the high school auditorium, 50 35th St. SW, at 7 p.m.
South Christian High School has 170 students graduating. Graduation is at Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park Ave. SW at 7:30 p.m..
Thursday, May 24
East Kentwood High School has around 600 students graduating. Graduation is at the the school’s stadium, 6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, at 7 p.m. The rain date is May 25.
Tuesday, May 29
Tri-Unity Christian School has 18 students graduating. Graduation is at Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest Ave. SW,at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 30
West Michigan Aviation Academy 133 students graduating. Graduation is at Calvin College, 3201 Burton St. SE. at 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 31
Kelloggsville High School has 137 students graduating. Graduation is at Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park Ave. SW, at 7 p.m.
Potter House has 53 students graduating. Graduation is Calvary Baptist Church, 1200 28th St. SE at 7 p.m.
Friday, June 1
West Michigan Lutheran High School has 5 students graduating. Graduation is at West Michigan Lutheran High School, 601 36th St. SW, at 7 p.m.
Monday, June 4
Grand River Prep High School has 134 students graduating. Graduation is at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena, 3201 Burton St. SE, at 6:30 p.m.
2016 graduation ceremonies kick off tomorrow and run through next week.
It’s May. The weather is finally warm. The flowers are blooming and it’s time for more than 1,500 students to take their final walk down the aisle to receive their high school diplomas.
In the Kentwood and Wyoming areas, there are 11 schools hosting graduation ceremonies within the next two weeks. Here is a rundown of dates and the top students for each school.
Starting out of the graduation ceremonies will be South Christian High, which will graduate 154 students Thursday, May 25. Graduation is set for 7 p.m. at Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park Ave. SW. The school has three valedictorians: Joshua Boers, Colin Hartgerink and Nicolas Kuperus. The remaining students in the top ten are: Peyton DeRuiter, Lucy Dykhouse, Cassidy Huizinga, Hannah Koning, A.J. Samdal, Bradley Scholten and Alex VanKooten.
On Friday, May 26, both East Kentwood High School and Godfrey’s Lee High School will be hosting their 2016 graduation ceremonies. Lee High School has around 90 students walking down the aisle at 7 p.m. at Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest Ave. SW, Grandville. Making up the 2016 Lee High School top ten are Leonardo Vallejo, Emily Fishman, Selena Knutson, Dino Rodas, Allison Fisher, Giselle Perez, Ivan Diaz, Alonso Lopez-Carrera, Alejandro Vargas and Oliver Lorenzo.
East Kentwood High School’s graduation isat 7 p.m. May 26 at the school’s stadium, 6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. The rain date is May 27. Making up the top ten are Andy Ly, Megan Callaghan, Makaela Dalley, Nolan Meister, Sara Anstey, Marilyn Padua, Tran Vo, Hao Nguyen, Venesa Haska, and Matthew Richer.
Tri-Unity High School and Wyoming High School will have graduation ceremonies on Tuesday, May 31.
Wyoming High School will have 265 students graduate at 7 p.m. May 31 at Grand Rapids First Church, 2100 44th St. SW. The top ten are Montana Earegood, Kayla Kornoelje, Stella Achiyan, Naomi Nguyen, Nhu Quynh, Christopher Hanson, Jada Haines, Rachel Bolt, Lazaro Cruz, and Kelly Gonzalez Diaz.
Tri-Unity Christian School will be graduating 17 students at 7 p.m. May 31 at Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest Ave. SW, Grandville. The top two students for the class are Lisa McKelvey and Alissa VanderVeen.
Godwin High School has 126 students graduating on Wednesday, June 1. Graduation ceremonies are at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium, 50 35th St. SW. The valedictorian is Esteban Romero Herrera. The salutatorian is Taylor Jarrett. The rest of the top top are Ashley Soto, Sandra Rivera, Chloe Fritz, Amel Causevic, China Nguyen, Karen Barrose, Hector Zoleta and Alex Mosley.
Several area schools will be hosting graduation ceremonies on Thursday, June 2.
Kelloggsville High School’s 2016 graduation ceremonies are at 7 p.m. June 2 at Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park Ave. SW. The class has 140 students this year. The top ten are: Lan-Phuong Ton, Lucynda Pham, Kim-Ngan Nguyen, April M. Savickas, Shayla Huong Huynh, Ashley Duong, Chantal Lopez, Loc Tran, Michael Truong, and Sang Tran.
The Potters House will be graduating 44 students at 7 p.m. June 2 at Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church, 1800 Plymouth Ave. SE., Grand Rapids. The valedictorian is Ashley VerBeek and the salutatorian is Emily Stout.
West Michigan Aviation Academy has 94 students in its 2016 graduating class. Graduation is at 7 p.m. June 2 at the school, 5363 44th St. SE. Making up the top ten are Abigail Kathleen Austin, Cindy Ngoc Ha, Connor Hendrik Hogan, Jonathan David Ketcham, Jason Thomas Kilgore, Hayley Elizabeth Latham, Jaxyn Bennett Ryks, Emily Ann Seykora, Samantha Rae Stuart, and Joshua Zane Vogeli.
West Michigan Lutheran High School is proud that its eight graduates will graduate with over a 3.0 GPA. The graduation baccalaureate service begins at 7 p.m. at the school, 601 36th St. SW, Wyoming. Valedictorian is Allison Klooster and salutatorian is Joshua Andree.
On Friday, June 3, Grand River Prep High School has 113 graduates for 2016. This year’s graduation is at 6:30 p.m. Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena, 3195 Knight Way SE. Class valedictorian is Christa Fernando. Salutatorians are Ajilan Potter and Megan Lawrence. The rest of the top ten include Victor Rojas Garcia, Samrawit Kahsay, Taitum Male, Julia Lammy, Antony Nguyen, Giselle Uwera, Mckenzie Male, Hai Truong and Kendall Garland.
