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Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

Nevermind that the graduatation ceremony for James T. Hutchison High School was a fire marshal’s worst nightmare because more than 500 friends and family members squeezed into the Lee H. Salisbury Theatre on Thursday evening to honor the class of 2008.

The Salisbury Theatre has a seating capacity of about 430, but the ceremony was rather intimate as spectators lined the aisles and spilled into the halls. Every seat in the house was filled, and that showed the amount of support for the school’s 59 graduating seniors.

Valedictorian Theresa Vaquera fought back tears during her commencement speech while many of her classmates shed a few for her as she spoke.

She maintained a 3.98 GPA while playing volleyball and basketball all four years.

“It was really unexpected that I was valedictorian, but I guess all my hard work paid off,” she said.

Vaquera couldn’t have said it better when she told her peers, “Each of us has the power to be who we want.”

She touched on the unique academic experiences that she and her fellow graduates shared at the techademic high school.

“We decided to make a change and try something new, and we have succeeded,” Vaquera said.

The school pride in the room was immense as graduates cheered between sentences.

Vaquera said prior to the ceremony she was proud to have been at Hutchison.

“A lot of people in town think we’re not as smart as other high schools, but they’re wrong.” she said. “That only gave us the drive to do great things here.”

The academic program at Hutchison High School integrates academic and career-technical studies to give students a firm base in preparation for the real world. Students go through the same rigorous academic programs as other high schools but are also given the opportunity to explore career options and technical training.

After graduation, Vaquera will be attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is thinking of studying broadcast journalism but is keeping her mind open to new opportunities.

On the lighter side, Anna Johnson, salutatorian, spoke of unique memories each of the studnets shared. As a change of pace, Johnson evaluated the faculty members’ performance at school.

Audience members could see the sparkling tears in the eyes of the faculty, who gave up their seats before the ceremony and sat in folding chairs near the back of the small stage.

“Through the years you have become more than just role models,” Johnson said. “You have become our best friends.”

To the relief of the faculty, Johnson gave each of them an A+ grade.