Around 5,000 packed the district stadium in Battle Ground to watch 350 seniors from the class of 2023 walk across the stage and mark the end of their K-12 journey on Friday, June 9.
The weather was drizzly and a little cold, but staff at Battle Ground High School were thankful it wasn’t a repeat of last year’s downpour conditions. Graduation season is bittersweet for many of the students and employees of the high school, which could be seen on many faces in the crowd before and during the ceremony.
“There’s certain kids that you develop a relationship with over the years. … You’ll see them over the years when special events take place, but you’re going to miss seeing them every day,” Jonas Fridriksson, a teacher at Battle Ground High School, said. “And I think that’s why teaching is such a rewarding profession is you make relationships that last in some cases a lifetime.”
After Principal Charbonneau Gourde welcomed the large crowd, the soon to be graduating seniors walked in for a procession as their loved ones watched them make their way into the ceremony donned in their caps and gowns.
A presentation of colors by Battle Ground’s AFJROTC was followed by “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was sung by seniors Cambrie Opdahl, Samantha Grossman, Danika Schnell and Nicolas Melnichenko.
Senior Class President Ethan Valtierra delivered the commencement welcome to all who were in attendance where he unveiled his Pledge of Allegiance every morning was a recording and not done live. Samantha Grossman followed the welcome by singing “Wide Open Spaces,” which was followed by the addresses from valedictorians Micah Panlilio and Tom Wheeler.
Cambrie Opdahl sang “Feeling Small” after Battle Ground School Board President Jackie Maddux accepted the class of 2023.
The graduates then walked across the stage to receive their diplomas while parents, friends and family members cheered loudly.
A common theme throughout the ceremony was the subtle reminder that the class of 2023 had endured a lot throughout their time in high school. Their freshman year in 2020 was cut short, 2021 was far from a normal year, and 2022 and 2023 became their post-pandemic normal.
“They have been through a challenge, a storm. They definitely had their uphill battles with COVID and everything else,” Fridriksson said. “But I can’t be more proud of a group. They have great friendships with one another. They’re so respectful and they’re going to do amazing things.”
After every student walked across the stage and received their diplomas, Valtierra led his fellow graduates as they moved their tassels from one side to the other, officially marking their graduation. They ended with a celebratory cap toss with a beach ball thrown into the mix.
“My message is always to work hard and be kind always,” Gourde said. “But this is a group of very tenacious students, who struggled through a lot of stuff, as you know. And we’re just really proud of them and we hope (they) come back and see us someday and we look forward to watching what they do in the future.”
As students congratulated one another and met with their friends and family members for photos and a celebration on the football field after the ceremony, one graduate, Luke Kostman, said his favorite memory was his senior season of basketball.
Kostman said all of his graduating peers have bright futures ahead of them and gave a shout out to his mom for helping him through the abnormal high school journey the class of 2023 endured.
