RCHS Class of 2025 graduates June 1
by Richard Lamb–Advance Editor
The Rogers City High School (RCHS) Class of 2025 marched out of the gymnasium as the latest to graduate from the school. It was the 61st class to march out of the current high school, after the first one in 1964, minus the pandemic year when the commencement was staged on the football field.
Superintendent of schools and principal Nicholas Hein greeting the gymnasium full of friends and families of the graduate and offered remarks to the Class of 2025. He used the class motto of “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory,” as inspiration for his talk.
“In a perfect world, all of our memories would be our thoughts and our dreams. But the beautiful thing about this life is that it is not perfect. You get to make mistakes. You learn from those experiences. You get to make your own path and choose who is part of your life to create moments together that turn into those memories,” Hein said.
“In the end memories shape us into who we will become. I have memory of being one of you, sitting in those very seats in this very gym. Then I blinked and now I am here. Never forget this life goes by fast. Try to make every day what you want it to be, and if it is not, learn from it. Don’t spend time worrying about what you can’t control and focus on what you can.”
Salutatorian Savannah Tulgestka, the daughter of Nancy and Chris Tulgestka, went next on the stage thanking family members, school staff, teachers and coaches for helping her along the way.
“In the midst of the celebration I don’t want to lose sight of reality. The truth is life is hard and the world is imperfect. As we all step into the next chapter of our lives with excitement, we will all realize that not everything goes according to plan. There will be moments when we fail and moments when we feel hopeless. If you are not careful, these moments can consume the life in each and every one of us,” Tulgestka said.
She encouraged classmates by telling them God has a plan and that everyone has a purpose in the world.
“The future is not something we enter, but something we create,” she closed with.
Valedictorian Lena Bisson, the daughter of Sherry and Matt Bisson, used advice given to her by her sister.
“After my sister, Ila’s, long graduation at Lake Superior State University this May, she advised me to make my valedictorian speech like me: short and sweet. I gladly accepted that compliment and realized that I should listen to her advice because I know that no one wants to hear a speech that drags on forever and if I talk too long, my mom’s tears will flood the gymnasium,” Bisson said.
She also thanked those who helped her and her classmates with their learning experience.
“We really could not have done this without each other. Our relationships with each other not only helped some of us get answers to assignments, but it also helped us all get through a mentally-tolling 13 years. Having known a lot of you since elementary school, it’ll be odd to say goodbye and part our separate ways into our futures, but it has come to be that time and all I can do is wish you the best of luck. To the Class of 2025, congratulations and thank you all for these past several years. Thank you Rogers City Area Schools, it’s been an honor,” Bisson said.
Andrew Grambau, president of the Rogers City School board of education said graduation is not only the end of high school days but a commencement of the students’ post-high school days.
“No matter where you end up, you got your start in this special place as a Rogers City Huron. And as you start your next chapter, I want to encourage you to stay curious and don’t be afraid to ask ‘why.’ Asking why is a sign of strength, not weakness. It is a sign of a desire to learn and grow,” Grambau said.
After the speeches, and once every class member walked the stage to receive their diplomas, class president Isabel Haselhuhn gave the order to turn their tassels, setting off a celebration of confetti thrown by the new graduates.
The RCHS band, under the direction of Jack Fults, played music before the ceremony, the “Star Spangled Banner,” the “Alma Mater,” “Hail! The Orange and Black” and “Play that Funky Music,” along with “Pomp and Circumstance” as the seniors entered the gymnasium.
