{"id":104889,"date":"2016-05-27T02:19:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T08:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/m-chs-class-of-2016-has-skyrocketing-future\/"},"modified":"2016-05-27T02:19:44","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T08:19:44","slug":"m-chs-class-of-2016-has-skyrocketing-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/m-chs-class-of-2016-has-skyrocketing-future\/","title":{"rendered":"M-CHS Class of 2016 has \u2018skyrocketing future\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7feC_twREm4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Wisenbaker teaches math at M-CHS and was selected by the students to speak at the ceremony. She said she had watched the senior class develop \u201cexponentially\u201d over the past four years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis growth will continue to skyrocket,\u201d Wisenbaker said. \u201cThere is nothing these students can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spectators spilled out onto the lawn of Panther Stadium on a mild, sunny spring evening for the ceremony. M-CHS Principal Jason Wayman shared personal memories involving dozens of students.<\/p>\n<p>Wayman urged students to carry with them the special memories they made attending M-CHS. Those keepsakes can help you build for the future, he said. He thanked the seniors for four memorable years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for the fun times and the good memories,\u201d Wayman said. \u201cGo rock your future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s senior class has more members who are enlisting in the U.S. military than any other M-CHS class, Wayman said.<\/p>\n<p>Salutatorian Rachel Zetts is one of them. In August, she will leave for San Antonio, Texas, to enlist in the U.S. Air Force\u2019s cybersecurity program.<\/p>\n<p>In her speech, she focused on \u201clasts\u201d \u2014 the last school dance, the last sports games, the last day of classes. But she said now is the time to move forward and create new \u201cfirsts,\u201d such as their first day leaving home and their first day attending college classes.<\/p>\n<p>Zetts challenged her fellow classmates not to focus on their individual needs, but rather to be selfless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can aim to mend society\u2019s flaws as we go forward,\u201d she said. \u201cLet\u2019s strive to put others before us and move the focus off of ourselves and to others in need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Longtime family friends Joe and Diane Carabetta flew in from Maryland for Zetts\u2019 big moment. After her speech, Joe Carabetta, who had weaved through the standing room-only crowd for a closer view, returned to his wife, Zetts\u2019 mother Lucita and Zetts\u2019 friend Kayla Garcher, and a Journal editor and announced, \u201cShe did good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valedictorian Laurel Chappell ended her high school career with a 4.1 grade point average and took five college courses during school, Wayman said.<\/p>\n<p>In her speech Thursday, Chappell said that although her generation is sometimes characterized as lazy and entitled, each of her classmates managed to defy those labels. The seniors achieved success in sports, music and academics, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have all managed to succeed despite the negativity that sometimes surrounds us,\u201d Chappell said.<\/p>\n<p>The student government reached out to the community and award-winning journalism team kept students informed, Chappell said. She said the students couldn\u2019t have done those things without support from parents and teachers. She said she hoped that level of pride and involvement in the school would continue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to change the reputation of our generation,\u201d Chappell said. \u201cThat has already started taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although Chappell\u2019s speech focused on overcoming generational stereotypes, she ended with a bona fide millennial move \u2014 she pulled out her phone and took a selfie from the stage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for the memories and the friends,\u201d Chappell said. \u201cIt\u2019s time for bigger things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The top 20 seniors with highest grade point averages were recognized at the ceremony. All had GPAs of 3.6 or above, Wayman said.<\/p>\n<p>The new Montezuma-Cortez High School building also was given a moment in the sun. Speaker Wisenbaker noted that the Class of 2016 is the first to graduate from the new building. It\u2019s not just a building, she said. The high-tech facility has changed students\u2019 attitudes toward education and the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe new building is a tangible example of your dedication to the kids,\u201d Wisenbaker told the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>Wisenbaker said she loves the graduation ceremony because it\u2019s what all the seniors have been growing and working toward. She said she loved this year\u2019s group of seniors and insisted that they would make Cortez proud.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will miss you,\u201d Wisenbaker said. \u201cCome back and let us know how that skyrocketing future is going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"mwc_shirttail\"><a href=\"mailto:jklopfenstein@the-journal.com\">jklopfenstein@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisenbaker teaches math at M-CHS and was selected by the students to speak at the ceremony. She said she had watched the senior class develop \u201cexponentially\u201d over the past four years. \u201cThis growth will continue to skyrocket,\u201d Wisenbaker said. \u201cThere is nothing these students can\u2019t do.\u201d Spectators spilled out onto the lawn of Panther Stadium [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[21,13,60,36,216,316],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-104889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-cortez","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-montezuma-county","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-school-district-re-1","tag-video"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104889"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=104889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}