Cardinal Arena Packed For Farmington Graduation

CAROL BUNDSGAARD SPECIAL TO ENTERPRISE-LEADER Brooke Smith, left, and Alana Smith get ready to walk into the Cardinal Arena for Farmington High School’s 2016 commencement ceremony. Farmington handed out 161 diplomas. See more photos on Page 6A.
CAROL BUNDSGAARD SPECIAL TO ENTERPRISE-LEADER Brooke Smith, left, and Alana Smith get ready to walk into the Cardinal Arena for Farmington High School’s 2016 commencement ceremony. Farmington handed out 161 diplomas. See more photos on Page 6A.

FARMINGTON -- Cardinal Arena was standing room only last week as 161 Farmington High School seniors crossed the stage to whoops, hollers and applause to become members of the graduating class of 2016.

The class of 2016 is considered one of the largest classes to graduate from Farmington. Parents, grandparents, friends, faculty, Farmington School Board members and administrators, an estimated 3,300 in all, joined with the graduates in celebrating the second commencement ceremony at Cardinal Arena.

The May 17 ceremony included "Pomp and Circumstance" played by Farmington Cardinal Band and the National Anthem shared by the high school's honor choir, Crimson Select Ensemble. The ensemble also performed "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" during the program.

Senior Susanna Luther gave the invocation and class president, Jared Pinkerton, welcomed everyone to the 2016 graduation exercise.

Each year, three seniors give a history of their class, starting with kindergarten and going through 12th grade. Seniors Beau Burris, Drew Vinson and Elizabeth Williams offered a glimpse of fun times and serious times shared by classmates the past 13 years.

Superintendent Bryan Law reflected as he looked out over seniors sitting in Cardinal red gowns and caps before him.

"I look out here and I look at these students and think back to the start of school every year," Law said, explaining he usually visits kindergarten and first-grade classes on the first day of school year year.

"It's amazing to see the kids come in that first day of school in kindergarten and first grade," Law said. "They are excited and ready to go."

Many parents, on the other hand, Law said, leave the classroom crying.

"That's a challenging time for parents," Law said. "Graduating also is a challenging time in its own way."

Law expressed his pride in the class of 2016 for reaching out and achieving for 13 years, for closing out that chapter and getting ready to start a new chapter.

"This group is a wonderful group of young people," Law said. "They've been a wonderful group all the way through and we're going to greatly miss them but we also look forward to seeing what their accomplishments will be in the future, what wonderful opportunities are there for them."

Valedictorian Blayke Rogers recalled words that children learned in kindergarten in Farmington. "With these hands, and with this heart, and with this mind, I can do anything." That simple statement, Rogers told her fellow graduates, still applies 13 years later.

With their hands, graduates can complete a task, help, praise and encourage. With their hearts, graduates can be considerate and helpful. Using their minds, graduates can and must continue to learn, Rogers said.

"With these hands, and with this heart, and with this mind...I can do anything." Just 15 words, but so full of life lessons for us," she added.

Jeffrey Kutter, 2016 salutatorian, thanked his teachers for lessons that included learning how to discuss differing and diverse ideas with their peers.

"I feel like our class has learned an important lesson while we continue on to college. We have learned to communicate with all ages despite having views that did not agree with one another. This means that we were truly educated while we were in high school," Kutter said.

Jay Harper, dean of students, asked seniors who had received college scholarships to stand in recognition. These students, Harper said, accepted $2,415,626 in scholarships to colleges and universities in Arkansas, Oklahoma and other states.

The ceremony concluded with the awarding of diplomas by Principal Jon Purifoy and Assistant Principal Clayton Williams. Following this, Purifoy presented all graduates to the audience and the celebrating began as graduation caps were tossed in the air and congratulatory hugs and photos took place.

General News on 05/25/2016