Mother’s Day was a little more special for Iola-area moms Sunday, as they watched 66 seniors receive Iola High School diplomas.
The ceremony in the school’s gymnasium was done in an expeditious manner, with the last of the seniors having received diplomas within in 30 minutes.
Adam Kauth, Tyler McIntosh, Ricky Michael and Bryan Mueller were recognized as valedictorians, each having accumulated 4.0 grade point averages throughout their high school careers. Quinton Morrison was just a tick back and was named salutatorian.
Michael won the Rotary watch, on the basis of a tiebreaker, having the highest ACT score among the four valedictorians.
Karen Gilpin, Rotary president, noted the Rotary watch was given the student who had the top academic record among male students from 1925 until 2011, when female students were added to the mix. Prior to 2011 the Iola Business and Professional Women’s Club recognized females at the top of their class academically.
Michael Wilson, selected by his classmates to speak, thanked teachers, administrators, staff and Board of Education members, and said “all of us are here today because of you.”
The class is smaller in numbers than those of past years, Wilson added, but contains “many talented students.”
He compared the class to a skyscraper and, with the students having much of their lives ahead of them, “we’re just at the second floor.”
After stepping out of alphabetical order to receive her diploma, Mackenzie Weseloh, president of the senior class, announced her classmates before each received a diploma, awarded by Tony Leavitt, BOE president.
