Classmate’s untimely death brings SACS seniors together

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/
Gloria Austin
SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK graduate Jessalyn Chafee, above, gets a word of congratulations on her achievement after last Friday night’s commencement exercises in Dyer Brook.
By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    Tears of joy, tears of sorrow. A time of laughter, mingled with sadness. Recollection and revelation.
    Last Friday night, 38 students graduated from Southern Aroostook Community School.
    After SACS Principal Jon Porter welcomed the crowd, honor part students — Alexandria Bishop, Rebecca Sherwood, Logan Desmond and Keegan Qualey — remembered their time at SACS, as well as looked toward  the future.
    Salutatorian Bishop honestly said, “Who am I to give advice? I’m just like the rest of us; young and confused.”
    Struggling to find the right words, subject and ideas when writing her speech, Bishop summed it up by saying, “The closeness that has grown between all of us can never be replaced … it was not grown in a simple manner, but it had to flourish.”
    Bishop continued with discussing the event that cemented the class — the death of a classmate, Jarrica Rose Emery — whose chair was empty, hugged by a white cap and gown, and in her place a photo and a wood-burned plaque, along with a single rose.
TOUCHING MOMENT – Southern Aroostook Community School Superintendent Terry Comeau presented Cindy (Dunphy) Emery with her daughter’s diploma during last Friday night’s graduation ceremony. Emery’s daughter Jarrica died of the result of a car accident.
    Before the graduation, classmates and friends with tear-stained faces added more flowers at the base of her chair.
    Bishop, apologized for the painful reminder, but said, Emery’s death shaped the Class of 2010 as a unit and as individuals.
    “I could not talk about our class and how close we are by pretending we had a complete year when we were broken half way through,” she said. “I had to speak about her because she deserves the recognition and she deserves to be credited for how she changed each member of the school, especially the class of 2010.”
    Next came the more playful discussion of the class trip.
    “The joys of what we experienced welded tighter the closeness between all of us that has blossomed over the last 13 years.”
    In conclusion, Bishop quoted famous lines from Charles Dickens’ classic novel “A Tale of Two Cities” and created her own describing the graduating class of 2010.
A BIT OF HUMOR – William Adams, right, shares a bit of humor with fellow graduate Breianna Bubar while waiting in the receiving line after Friday night’s graduation ceremony at Southern Aroostook Community School.
    “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. We had everything before us, we had nothing before us. We were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way … the high school careers, we have accomplished, were so hectic and alive that we can look back and say, ‘I’m sad this is over, I’m glad that it is over.’”
    First Honor Essayist Rebecca Sherwood addressed her classmates and audience using quotes and lyrics significant to the graduates’ past, present and future.
    “Today is a sad, but happy day,” she said. “It is sad to think that most of us are leaving for an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, and we are no longer going to see our classmates, parents, teachers, friends  and community members on a daily basis.
    Sherwood hoped her classmates had “seized the day.”
    “Hopefully, in our years thus far, we have done just that, lived each day as if it were our last, and taken advantage of the time in each day we are given,” she added. “We are such a close class, and I believe we will be forever connected, no matter where our paths take us after high school As we get older and experience new things, our memories will start to fade, but we will still remember how it was, and what it took to get where we are.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY – Yvonne Goodall is surrounded by her three children, from left, Elizabeth, Nathanial and Evangeline before Friday night’s graduation ceremony at Southern Aroostook Community School.
    Second Honor Essayist Qualey dared his classmates to dream and reach their full potential, without being sidetracked.
    “As one door is closing, another will open,” he said. “While our paths will differ, each of us will be faced with carving our own way in the world and creating our own lives and our own excellence.”
    Qualey encouraged his classmates with these words. “Reflect upon your high school years. Learn from your mistakes and capture your successes. As you go forth in the world, dare to dream, but always remember that dreams require work. Do not be afraid of failure. Do not sell yourselves short.
    “Throughout our lives, we have acquired skills and tools that we will need in order to succeed,” he said.
    And then Valedictorian Desmond took the podium, discussing his peers’ growing years through elementary to graduation.
    “It’s been a wild, and at times, difficult ride full of ups and downs,” he said. “Now we are done. It’s time to look to our futures. Although tonight is the first step in the rest of our lives, I would like to take a minute and look back on how we got here.”
    Starting in 1997, the class came together.
    “I think we were all a little nervous, but yet excited to come to school,” he added. “It’s hard to believe we actually liked school at one time.”
SHARING A SMILE  – Jesse Small shares a smile with his older sister Meaghan before last Friday’s graduation ceremony at Southern Aroostook Community School.
    Then Desmond discussed first through fourth grade and how new challenges came to the students, along came fifth grade with more change.
    “We were now the big kids in the pond,” he said. “It felt so cool to get to sit up in the chairs during all school meetings when everyone else was on the floor. We finally got to go on the much-awaited Boston trip. I felt all grown up, even though Mom held right on to my jacket the whole way around the city.”
    Sixth grade became a turning point and then junior high, Desmond and his classmates were the “little guys” again.
    “And so the cycle repeated,” he said for eighth grade. “We felt big and important.”
    Then, high school. Freshman year.
    “I felt so small and was scared on my first day of school,” he admitted. “After about the first week, I wasn’t scared anymore. I realized high school was awesome. We had more freedom, but with that freedom came much responsibility.”
    Desmond talked about their high school years; the good and the bad times. He finished by thanking his class for making the past 13 years more fun.
    “It’s kind of crazy to think we won’t be back here next year,” he said, “but we’ll always have the memories.”
    Senior Class President Bishop introduced the guest speaker for the night, Drew Edwards, a 2005 SACS alumni.
    “What are your plans for next year,” Edwards asked. He knew it was a familiar question to the graduates. He addressed the fact that the students would be on their own making their own decisions without prearranged steps.
    “One aspect of the post-high school life that will soon confront you is one which appears on no competency test: planning for your future,” he said. “Until today, the progression of your life has been relatively easy to map out … when you graduate, this rhythm is radically and permanently altered.  For the first time in your lives there is no pre-arranged next step, it is entirely up to you what comes next.”  
    He urged the graduates to have a plan on how to achieve and to consider the choices they make as they step into the adulthood.
    “Choices, for the first time you have them, and they deserve no small amount of consideration,” Edwards said. “With this power of selection comes responsibility; you are now fully responsible for the direction and shape, your life takes. Your own choices and actions will henceforth be the determining factors of how you continue to move through life towards new goals and challenges.”
    Edwards acknowledged the next part of the ceremony was the presenting of diplomas.
    “That moment will symbolize the culmination of more than a decade of schooling,” he said. “While this is a moment of success and accomplishment I encourage you to not dwell on it too long. Begin a new journey, set your sights on your next achievement.”
    He advised the graduates to have a goal.
    “You will have successes, you will have failures, and you will have a great deal of experiences that fall somewhere in-between. When experiencing failure, having goals might be the one thing you can grasp on to and be reassured that one day things will improve. On those happier days when you experience some measure of success, remember those goals you have not yet accomplished, it might keep you modest.”
    Then, he welcomed the graduates to the alumni ranks.
    Scholarships were presented and the finale of the night, the graduates received their diplomas from Principal Porter, Superintendent Terry Comeau and Greg Ryan, school board chairman. Renae Russell and her classmates sang the “Graduation Song” and were led out by class marshalls Shelby Hartin and Anthony Diaferio, with pianist Morgan Gustin.