White Pigeon High School - Wahbememe Yearbook (White Pigeon, MI)

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Okuni Comes To W. P. Kuniyo, a senior, is White Pigeon’s newest exchange student who transferred from Cedar Springs, Michigan Her parents live in Osaka, the second largest city in Japan. She has an older brother and sister and one younger brother. Kuniyo keeps in touch with her family by calling every two weeks and writing about once a week. Manuel, who is 18 years old, is staying with the Rex Lucas family in White Pigeon. He left Chile August 27 and arrived at the Detroit Airport on the 28th as part of the Youth For Understanding Program. CoAst, 7(0 2- S UOAA, I When I began to write this speech, I wanted to say things that aren't said in every speech on graduation day. I found, however, that it is a difficult task, because I think that although we are each individuals, we all have many of the same mixed emotions on this day. We may feel sadness, happiness, anxiety, fears, hopes, . . . and none of us are quite sure of just where we will be tomorrow. As I stand before each of you today -parents, faculty, friends, and my fellow graduating seniors - I see reflections of past experiences and visions of what tomorrow might bring. I am here, as so many before me have been, to summarize our school years, and to give recognition to all of our deserving supporters. It's very difficult to summarize thirteen years into one short speech - probably the hardest task I've ever been assigned. In order to give these past years and all of the people who have made them possible due recognition, I would first like to thank: Our parents. I am sure that I speak for all of my classmates when I say, Thank you Mom and Dad It's been your support and love and understanding that has put us here today You were always there for us. You've helped us through good and bad and what we owe you cannot ever truly be repaid. I hope that the pride you feel today is payment enough. To the faculty and administration: I want to thank you for providing us with a base from which to grow. You've given us a start and now each of us must take the knowledge that we've gained and build ourselves to be the best that we can be To our many, many friends among the underclassmen: You'll be here someday and you won't know what happened to your high school years As you look ahead, I am sure you see an eternity of tests, teachers, and seemingly never-ending days. As I look back, I see years that have flown right past me, and once again I am looking ahead Enjoy this time and don't ever take for granted the many friends you've made. You'll miss them some day, much as we'll miss you. Finally, to my classmates: In a few short minutes all of this will be behind us. It's time for us to be what we have only talked about being and do what we have only imagined. There are so many decisions to be made. Whatever you decide, respect yourself for that choice and I hope that you will gain success and happiness from it. Do what you do to the best of your ability, and don't ever quit striving for your dream. Set goals for yourselves, and be careful not to live life like there's no tomorrow. For tomorrow will come, just as it always has. If you have plans and dreams, you can achieve whatever it is you wish. You can be whatever you want to be. Always remember though, whatever you make of your lives, make yourselves proud. I feel like I'm saying goodbye to my family today. For the past thirteen years, we've grown up together. We've played together, we learned to read together, to write together, we've laughed together, and we've grown to love and respect one another. The closeness that we have felt as a class is unlike any that I can ever remember We have always been proud of the fact that we are the Class of 1982. We've all made some wonderful friends here, and although some of us may never see one another again, we always have our memories. There are so many things that I could say today, so many memories about which I could reminisce. But I'm sure that we all have our own special feelings for one another, and those are feelings that we will always cherish. I leave you today to remember the good times, the good friends, and the treasured moments of our past years together To the graduating Class of 1982: May your days be bright and your lives be long and filled with much happiness. Thank you Cristi Harman Salutatorian 10

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rararararararararac Special People mmnniminn Senior John Luttmann won first place This year’s D.A.R. representative for White Pigeon High School is Lori Chupp. D.A.R. stands for Daughters of the American Revolution. One person is selected from each high school to represent his or her school. and grand prize in his division with his chess set at State competition in Grand Rapids. This was the first time that someone from White Pigeon has placed first at State. He also won first place and grand prize at Regionals in Port age. ma rmn Four seniors from White Pigeon came out on top of over 600 students com peting at the recent Model United Nations held at Hope College. March 11 and 12. Tom Grabe and Grant Medich, after discussing their topic which dealt with the crisis in Namibia, received a plaque for first place in their security council. In anther security council, Angie Me Carrel and Sara O’Sullivan combined their efforts to receive second place for their discussion of the use of chemical warfare in southeast Asia. Their second place prize was a gavel. Both awards will be displayed in the high school trophy case. 9

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Good afternoon and welcome to the graduation exercises for the Class of 1982 Throughout history, man has desired to understand what makes a life good The end of philosophy itself, some say, is the discovery of what the good' life actually is and how we, as human beings, can obtain it. At this moment in time, each of us is trying to put our lives in some form of perspective Our minds are filled with thoughts of remembrance Memories of past accomplishments and friendships can never be erased, only enhanced with time. Soon our graduation itself will joirTour list oF accmplishments ancf cherished memories Now we have reached the threshold of our own destinies; the time in our lives when we, as human beings, are responsible for our own decisions and are truly able to go in quest of our own personal utopia, or ideal, of the good' life. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow expressed his ideals in his poem The Builders The Builders All are architects of Fate Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme. For the structure that we raise, Time is with materials filled; Our todays and yesterdays Are the blocks with which we build. Let us do our work as well, Both the unseen and the seen; Make the house where gods may dwell Beautiful, entire, and clean Else our lives are incomplete, Standing in these walls of Time, Broken stairways, where the feet Stumble, as they seek to climb Build today, then, strong and sure, With a firm and ample base; And ascending and secure Shall tomorrow find its place Thus alone can we attain To those turrets, where the eye Sees the world as only vast plain, And one boundless reach of sky. Only each person can realistically judge what certain possessions and qualities he feels are necessary to attain his ultimate happiness in life. For instance, a man who seeks comfort in his existence may believe monetary wealth and possessions, such as owning a big and beautiful house and a sports car, would lead to a full life. A humanitarian, however, may feel that only service to others, such as working in the Peace Corps, would achieve the utmost good Towards the attainment of a 'good' life, opportunity exists as a main factor. A famous phrase states, Opportunity only knocks once ' Personally, I feel this phrase is only partially correct. Opportunity may knock more than once but it is the responsibility of the individual to wisely decide whether or not to open the door and let it in We must choose the right opportunities in our lives in order to reach the horizon of true happiness, and it is this freedom to choose which allows us to truly control our own human destiny. As we continue our search for the right opportunities, we must also encounter challenges. In the stream of life, challenges are the rocks which bar your way downstream to eternity. Until you conquer these challenges by dislodging them, you will never really reach your true goal of a good' life. After overcoming one challenge, you proceed to discover bigger and more important goals to strive for and attain. Relating this to life's stream, the rocks we have moved begin to wear down and become smooth, thus aiding to calm the turbulent currents as the water flows onward. This seeking of challenges is a fundamental part of the life of every human being who wishes to reach a philosophical Xanadu, a place where dreams come true. Without it, man would not continue to better himself as a person and thus the valuable inner growth, essential for life itself, would xeroain stagnant. Education guides individuals towards the accomplishment of a good life In order to distinguish important opportunities, it becomes necessary to be educated High school has presented us with a foundation for further learning. But this education need not be in the classroom, because human experience itself adds to our useful store of knowledge Thus education is an everlasting process and it is up to us to make use of our knowledge. In our ever-changing world, wisdom gives us the tool to evaluate doors to new horizons and other facades of life. Ignorance obviously helps to allow these doors to remain closed We cannot be afraid of opening the way to our dreams and applying our knowledge. A life of fear cannot possibly lead to one of true happiness and worth One goal hopefully achieved by a good educational system is a certain flexibility towards different ideals that could open up new opportunities in our lives. We must not shut out the beliefs of others, but must learn to keep our minds open. Once we refuse to acknowledge different ideals, our lives and beliefs become isolated. Education shows us how to avoid the isolation of how we think and lead our lives. Every human being created is individual. Individuality is defined as the qualities which distinguish one person from another or the state of being individual. Thus we were made to be different and not to be slaves to conformity. We can never be truly happy and attain our ultimate goal of a good life if we always conform to the beliefs of others. Henry David Thoreau once said, The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. Thoreau was referring to the fact that many human beings resign themselves to the fate of letting someone else decide how they should look or feel. They are afraid of individuality. A life of such resignation can only lead to an existence of mediocre conformity. You can never truly attain a good life if you are in fear of being yourself Once one gives up individuality, it becomes more difficult to judge what opportunities and decisions are honestly essential for your true goals in life The attainment of individuality is a goal each of us should be striving for in our lives. I hope that each of my fellow graduates is able to conquer the challenges and find the opportunities of which life consists, and that they achieve the ultimate goal of the human being - true happiness and individual worth. Thank you, Todd Cast Valedictorian