NK grads out to meet world challenges

Graduates who comprise New Kent High School’s Class of 2008 are equipped to meet the challenges of the world — and rising gasoline prices.

Economic woes and a bit of politics intermingled speakers’ comments as the 187-member class, including 60 honor graduates, said farewell to high school during June 7 graduation exercises inside VCU’s Siegel Center in Richmond.

But even with gasoline prices on the verge of eclipsing $4 per gallon, it’s unlikely any of the $1,289,000 class members received in scholarships and grants will go toward filling up. Most is targeted for higher education and the resulting top paying jobs that help offset energy costs.

“This is the day all of us have been waiting for,” senior class president Kayla Timberlake told the crowd in her welcoming remarks. “We’ve finally accomplished the goal the past 13 years of our lives have revolved around.”

Salutatorian Laura Smith took the past a step further, drawing laughter when she told the crowd, “It’s finally here– the day anxiously awaited for 18 years. Right, parents?”

Getting back to the fuel theme, Smith noted that when the Class of 2008 entered kindergarten on Sept. 5, 1995, gasoline cost $1 a gallon. Mullets and three-inch rattails were also in vogue, she said.

“We faced going to school with excitement and apprehension,” she said. “Now we worry about the same thing, just in a different context.”

Valedictorian Ian Burnet thanked parents, teachers, close friends and all who make life in New Kent County worthwhile.

“We are assuming responsibility and becoming independent both mentally and physically,” he told classmates. “We are becoming adults.”

Burnet mentioned development in New Kent — mostly geared toward the wealthy, he added — that is converting the county into something “besides the middle of nowhere like we have known it.”

On the political side, he urged classmates to register to vote, and added, “Don’t let this election be as superficial as the ones before it.”

He told classmates to remain focused, never stop learning, and keep in touch with friends.

“Thank you all for a great four years,” he concluded.

School Superintendent Roy Geiger noted that the Class of 2008 is the last to graduate from the current high school building. Next year, the high school moves to its new $50 million facility and the existing building becomes the county’s middle school.

He labeled the class as a group of well-rounded students, adding, “The success they achieved is a by-product of their hard work and contributions of teachers, parents, and staff.”

He told class members their parents deserve praise for “having the courage and determination to confront and discipline you when you needed it and the love and patience to pick you up when you were down.”

Geiger told graduates, “You all have the skills and character necessary to achieve success in the next exciting phase of your lives. Always remember your greatest supporters in you lives have been and will be your parents.”