Graduating seniors from the Bethel School District wore caps and gowns this week as they walked the hallways of buildings they visited years ago.
The Bethel School District Grad Walk is a long-standing tradition for the district, with graduates of Willamette High and Kalapuya High returning to their roots to be cheered on by former elementary and middle school teachers and young students.
Thursday morning’s walk began at Willamette High, where Principal Dan Hedberg gathered the students and congratulated them on their achievements.
“Grad Walk is an opportunity to showcase the achievements of all our students; they have truly gone on unique and amazing journeys to graduate,” Hedberg said. “This is one of those shared experiences that allows them to go back to the schools they grew up in, and see many of the teachers and other staff who support them along the way.”
The graduates boarded buses and made their first stop at Prairie Mountain School. During their district-wide tour, the seniors visited a total of nine schools.
Children lined the hallways of Prairie Mountain, some waving signs, others reaching out to give high-fives. The walks last about 10 minutes each, with graduates making their way through the hallways in lines of two.
Although the Grad Walk is really about the graduating seniors and their journey comes full circle, it also has benefits for younger students and staff. Hedberg said it has become a tradition that teachers look forward to all year long.
“They remember the sophomore version of the graduates, and to see them as the adult version, as graduates, is inspiring to them,” Hedberg said. “It gives them the feeling that the product of their work is moving forward.”
Hedberg said it is also a chance for younger students to reflect on high school, ask questions and look at their future education.
About 310 students were scheduled to graduate from Willamette High and Kalapuya High in a joint ceremony Friday.
An opportunity to look back
Amy Weyand, a graduating senior from WHS, headed the brigade and played the bass drum as the class toured the schools.
Weyand has been attending Bethel since she was in first grade. She remembered watching the Grad Walk herself years ago, as she sat along the hallways of Meadow View School and looked up at the graduating seniors.
On Thursday, she was looking forward to seeing some of her former teachers.
After graduation, Weyand will attend the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, a private performing arts school, for percussion. At WHS, Weyand participated in jazz and concert bands and had been practicing music since she was in sixth grade. She said she is excited to delve into studying music.
“The Conservatory of Music functions almost like a vocational school, while not being a normal university,” Weyand said. “I don’t have any core classes, just music classes. So it feels a little strange taking math class (senior year) knowing you’ll never have math again.”
Before this school year, Weyand had never been to the East Coast, but since then he has toured the school and auditioned for the conservatory.
“I’m sure it will be a bit of a culture shock,” Weyand said. “It’s honestly a bit like Portland and San Francisco, but in the East Coast version.”
Weyand said she had fond memories of her time at WHS, especially all her music-related endeavors. She mentioned a chamber music concert, which she helped organize, perform and play. Weyand said high schools don’t normally have chamber music concerts, which are typically smaller groups and solo performances, so she was grateful to have those opportunities at WHS.
A close-knit community
Hector Uriarte-Mercado, a graduating senior at Kalapuya High, remembered the Grad Walks from when he was in elementary school. He said he thought it was funny at first, but later realized it was a “cool” tradition where teachers and students could reunite years later.
Uriarte-Mercado said he has many memories of his time at KHS. KHS is an alternative high school, with most students withdrawn from WHS after their freshman year to offer non-traditional education. It is a tradition at Bethel for both high schools to celebrate a graduation ceremony together as the two work together to support students in the Bethel community. Uriarte-Mercado said he had a unique experience because of the smaller community.
“(I)ll remember all the funny memories I had with my friends,” Uriarte-Mercado said. “Because Kalapuya is such a small school, I also remember all the close relationships I was able to have with the teachers.”
Uriarte-Mercado said he plans to go into construction, hoping to one day start his own home building company.
Starting towards the future
Marisela Ventura Vazquez spent most of her childhood moving between different schools. She said she has moved between Washington and Oregon 18 times because her parents are migrant workers. Although she spent some time at Bethel schools such as Prairie Mountain, Malabon and Cascade, it was not until her freshman year that she finally settled permanently at WHS.
After years of hard work, Ventura Vazquez will attend the University of Notre Dame to study environmental engineering on a full scholarship through the coveted QuestBridge Scholarship program. Ventura Vazquez will be the first person in her family to attend college.
“It’s still a very confusing feeling because I’m new to this too and my parents are completely unaware of it,” Ventura Vazquez said. “They have no education.”
Ventura Vazquez said when she went to explore the Notre Dame campus in Indiana, it was her mother’s first time outside of Oregon and Washington states. She is grateful to be able to give her family these kinds of new experiences.
“There’s an overwhelming joy I have when that happens,” Ventura Vazquez said.
In Indiana, Ventura Vazquez was able to meet students who received the same scholarship and has already started making some connections.
“It’s a little bit surreal … to have this (trade fair) experience already and to see others processing it as well, it’s just very unexpected,” Ventura Vazquez said.
Ventura Vazquez gave out high-fives and waves to young students as she walked through Prairie Mountain.
She said the Grad Walk is a great way to honor all graduates, not necessarily just those who attend four-year colleges. She said she has learned about all the different paths her peers take after their high school careers end, and she is proud of her classmates.
Hedberg shared the sentiment that all students begin their life journey. He himself is also taking a new path and leaving WHS after 13 years at the school. Hedberg will transition into the role of Bethel’s director of middle school teaching and learning.
Hedberg helped start the Grad Walk tradition about a decade ago and said it was emotional to be part of his last Grad Walk as principal.
“It was a really wonderful and bittersweet experience for me,” Hedberg said. “Every year it’s great to see seniors who are ‘really cool,’ giving back to kids, and that in their hearts they are all so kind and giving to young people. It’s inspiring.”
Miranda Cyr covers education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Willamette, Kalapuya High School graduates visit former schools
