It was a beautiful, sunny day on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The sky was clear and blue, there was a light breeze, and barn swallows and hummingbirds flew around the premises of Teens, Inc. as Chinook West High School held its graduation ceremony outside. It was a bittersweet moment as six students from the high school said goodbye to the community they’ve formed and the teachers and classmates they’ve bonded with while also celebrating their achievements over the course of their time at the school.

To start the ceremony, the executive director of Teens, Inc., Stephen LeFaiver, opened with a moment of silence for the graduates. He encouraged those attending to close their eyes as a bell rang and sent their well-wishes to the graduates in their future endeavors.

He then introduced the keynote speaker of the ceremony, Mr. Raj Rawat, author of the motivational book Find Your Everest Before Someone Chooses It For You, which, according to LeFaiver, served as a source of information for many of the students at Chinook. He spoke of his experiences hosting workshops, his hesitation about writing a book for fear of seeming arrogant, and his advice for the graduates of Chinook as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.

Immediately afterward, the presentation of the graduates begins. Staff members of Chinook introduce the six graduates by giving speeches about their memories with the students, their favorite aspects of the students, and how the students inspired them as staff members.

Melissa Elbert began by introducing Elijah Brock and Tabitha Lamb, Bill Pollock continued by introducing Nathaniel Sheppard and Xavier Swartz, Tom Holmquist introduced Garrett Thomson, and Althea Abruscato concluded the celebration of the graduates by introducing Elijah Bayoud.

Each of the graduates gave a speech before being encouraged by the audience members to flip their tassels over, and each of them received their diploma, a succulent and a copy of Dr. Seuss’s iconic book Oh, The Places You’ll Go! The ceremony concluded with Kim Gershon presenting the We of Me scholarship, a scholarship that has been part of Teens, Inc. since 2017, to Ms. Lamb.

Directly after the ceremony, the community is allowed into Teens, Inc. for some refreshments, including meatballs, bread, chips, and cake, as a slideshow of the graduates plays in the background. The community that has gathered to celebrate these students is incredibly supportive throughout the course of the graduation ceremony, cheering at every speech and at every flip of the tassels. It’s an incredibly small event, with only a few dozen people seated outside the school, but you can feel the support emanating from everybody there.

As the Chinook Class of 2022 gets ready for the next stage of their lives, they are surrounded by family, friends, and other community members that care about their well-being. They are thrilled to have reached this point in their lives and to have grown so close to staff members and classmates at a school they hold near and dear to their hearts. They may not be students at Chinook anymore, but they will always keep Chinook close to them, and Chinook will always remember their achievements.