HOULTON, Maine — A small class of just four seniors earned their diplomas Saturday morning from the Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
Valedictorian Cole Winslow joked that like any member of his generation would do, when looking for ideas for a speech, he “Googled” them. He identified something he liked about each of the three other graduates and noted that moving forward in the future, they “needed to rely on God and His direction for our lives.”
“Anything is possible if we honor God,” he added.
Valedictorian Cole Winslow receives his diploma from Tom Zimmerman, head of school, during the Greater Houlton Christian Academy graduation on Saturday, June 8, 2019
(Jen Lynds)
Winslow told his peers to consider the choices before them. “We are entering a new phase of our lives and we are faced with so many choices to make,” he said. “Are we going to further our education and if so, which college do we want to attend? Even once we make the decision to attend college, we are faced with the choice of what career we want to pursue. Based on current choices, you are looking at a future pilot, sports journalist and two game wardens. Choosing a career that may last our lifetime seems very overwhelming when it can be difficult to make choices on the little things, like do I want pepperoni on my pizza? But, we have been given a firm foundation to begin building our lives.”
The guest speaker, Alex Walker, was a 2018 GHCA graduate. He gave the graduates several pieces of advice, including that they should “be ready when God opens doors for us.”
He also suggested they continue to look for ways that they can grow “spiritually” in the future. “Also, new challenges may seem scary in the moment,” he said before ending his speech. “But they don’t have to be overwhelming.”
The graduation ended with a video presentation of their school career.
