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Big Foot graduates urged to give of themselves

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Photo by Pedro Oliveira Jr.

A group of Big Foot high school seniors ham it up for a photo at the completion of their graduation ceremony Sunday in the village of Walworth.

WALWORTH — Of all lessons learned, there is one that Matthew McCarthy wants his classmates to leave behind.

“We need to forget the concept of giving up,” McCarthy told a packed gymnasium at Big Foot High School’s graduation Sunday afternoon.

“The reason children never give up is because they don’t know how,” added McCarthy, valedictorian for the class of 2010. “This is an attitude we should keep during our lives.”

There is only one circumstance when giving up is acceptable, District Administrator Dorothy Kaufmann said: When it involves giving a part of yourself to benefit others.

“Giving up yourself to make others more whole is a gift that keeps on giving,” Kaufmann said.

Together, Kaufmann said, the class of 2010 has served the community immensely. Blood drives, helping seniors and those less blessed are a part of their service to Walworth and the surrounding areas, she said.

Kaufmann encouraged graduates to continue to serve as they embark on the next chapter of their journeys.

“You will gain back,” she added.

Sunday’s graduating class comprised 128 seniors, some headed to colleges and universities, others to technical schools, others to military service.

One Walworth woman standing by the end of the gymnasium was particularly animated throughout the graduation ceremony. It has been 12 years since Madeline Zindrick’s daughter graduated high school.

But for the past four, she has come to the Big Foot graduation to celebrate a different set of children she has cared for.

“I’ve babysat so many of these children, and some I know from church,” Zindrick said, suddenly shouting the name of a graduate called to receive his diploma.

“That’s one of my babies,” she added, pointing at the sea of red caps and gowns. “I’m very proud of the accomplishments they’ve had this year.”

As she finished her sentence, graduates pulled out cans of silly string, spraying each other and throwing their caps in the air.

“Thank you for sharing with us your talents, humors, personalities and presences,” Principal Michael Hinske said. “You have made Big Foot a better place.”