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Brodhead graduates find strength in numbers

BRODHEAD — When Brodhead Principal Leonard Lueck saw the students of the class of 2010 moving into their senior year, he had reason to be concerned.

They’d had some behavioral and academic problems since middle school and had issues in and out of the classroom. On top of that, at 107 students by graduation, they were one of the largest senior classes to come through Brodhead in some time.

But as they stood on stage in their white and red gowns Sunday, Lueck looked on them with immense pride. They were what lifted the school this year.

“Although this was a long, painful year, it had nothing to do with these guys,” Lueck said. “These guys kept proving what’s right about all of our schools, so they deserve a round of applause.”

There was strife in 2010 as a result of two failed school referendums and a looming $200,000 in budget cuts.

But the class of 2010 thrived. With $400,000 in scholarships, 21 national honors society students, a raft of athletic achievements and the highest cumulative GPA of a graduating class in four years, the graduating seniors weren’t just a source of pride for staff and faculty, but of strength as well.

Lueck noted that some struggled to get here. Graduate Kyle Booher had been on a heavy schedule of classes the last two years—eight classes for eight hours, every day. Yet, when Booher’s name was read, nearly all the graduates leapt from their seats to cheer him on.

Of the 107 graduating seniors, 99 of them went to the same school from kindergarten on. So it made sense that the speeches of the valedictorians and salutatorians, written together and reflecting on the last 18 years, focused on friendship and how it helped them endure.

The last words were given to the parents, teachers and staff who carried them through.

“We know that wherever we go, you will always love us and support us,” said co-salutatorian Jennifer Jackson. “Today is the beginning of a new day, a new era, a new life. Our lives. And all we can say is thank you.”

School Board President Teresa Earleywine left the soon-to-be graduates with one last message.

“Take this day, these final minutes to share and reach out to your classmates one more time,” Earleywine said. “Some you will never see again. And that’s a difficult concept to grasp, but it is true.

“So cherish these final minutes. As you graduate today from Brodhead High School, you have a chance to think about how you will spend the next 4,800,000 minutes.”