by Joni Astrup
Associate Editor
A former graduate and three members of the Class of 2024 shared stories of resilience and hope during Ivan Sand Community High School’s graduation ceremony.
It was held Monday, June 3, in Zabee Theater at Elk River High School.
Senior speaker Zachary Akhaphong said he came to Ivan Sand because he had failed many of his classes and felt he had no hope of graduating.
Initially, he said he was scared to be there.
“But after the first week, I felt welcomed and didn’t feel scared any more,” he said. “The teachers had made me feel like I belonged here and my experiences at Ivan Sand were amazing for the most part.”
He said he’s proud of earning the Principal’s Award.
As his next chapter begins, he plans to attend Anoka Technical College and pursue a career as an auto mechanic.
He said his time at Ivan Sand has taught him about resilience and told his fellow graduates that they are resilient, too.
“We are capable of great things,” he said.
Senior speaker Grace Ball said she moved from Riverside, California, to Elk River after her sophomore year. It was a hard change, she said.
“Because of my choices, my parents enrolled me in the Fairview Recovery Program, where I was able to focus on myself but I also attended Ivan Sand as part of my daily routine. Once I graduated from Fairview, I decided to enroll at Ivan Sand full time,” she said.
Ball said she has decided to be an example and to take the high road.
She has felt seen and heard by the teachers and staff at Ivan Sand, she said.
She plans to go on to complete an associate degree in nursing and then apply to the U.S. Air Force. She intends to become a pediatric nurse.
“To the Class of 2024, remember it doesn’t matter what life experiences you’ve gone through. It matters how you choose to react to them. As you enter the next chapter of your life, take what you’ve learned here and do great things,” she said.
Senior speaker Katrina Simonette said she came to Ivan Sand her junior year of high school, devoid of hope and having experienced an extremely stressful home environment.
Her first impression of Ivan Sand was that it was a place for kids at the end of their rope that struggled to do school. She was angry at her adoptive mother for even thinking that Ivan Sand would be a good fit for her.
“School was a place I excelled amidst the chaos of my home life,” she said.
However, she said her experience at Ivan Sand was a time of self-discovery. She learned that people are so much more than their mistakes.
She graduated early in January and had plans through a Christian organization, YWAM, to grow her relationship with God in another state and be a missionary in Cambodia.
“After many months preparing for my five-month-long adventure, the Lord showed me a glimpse of my life’s calling,” she said.
She pulled her spot in the YWAM program and has applied to colleges with the intention of pursuing a degree in psychology.
“I understand for the first time in my life that my story was never meant for me. My story is for others, so that I can reach people not everyone can reach, so I can connect to people not everyone can connect to, to bring light and hope to a world full of darkness,” she said.
So many times, she said the students at Ivan Sand feel that their tomorrows look like their yesterdays, that the cycle of hopelessness will continue.
But she told them that they are the authors of their futures.
2003 grad tells Class of 2024: ‘Your potential is limitless’
Jennifer Beck, a 2003 graduate of Ivan Sand, was the guest speaker at this year’s graduation. Beck said she transitioned to Ivan Sand from Princeton Schools in the 10th grade, while she was eight months pregnant with her first child. Today her daughter is a successful 23-year-old employed as an auditor for a top 5 accounting firm in Minneapolis. She also works at the Elk River Area School District as the Elk River junior varsity softball coach, alongside her dad.
“Her father and I still remain within the Elk River community and now also have a 14-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son,” Jennifer Beck said.
She said when she first started at Ivan Sand, she felt scared, a little broken and kind of defeated in life.
“When I was first told I was pregnant, my initial reaction was, ‘My life was over,’” she said. “How in the heck was I going to take care of a child when I was struggling to take care of myself? My parents were alcoholics, my brothers and I were in and out of trouble, and here I was now pregnant.”
But looking back, she said she had the support of her now-husband and a school community that believed in her.
The journey through school was one of self-discovery, a lot of growth and resilience, she said.
“Ivan Sand Community School helped me become the person I am today,” she said. “They believed in me, they knew the potential I had and they made sure that I had the resources needed to be successful. They understood that being a teenage mother didn’t define me. It was just a stepping stone to a part of my own amazing journey.”
Beck interviewed at the Elk River Area School District office after a teacher told her about a job opportunity as a student worker. She continued to work in the school district’s business department for about 10 years after graduating from college and now is the director of finance for the Anoka-Hennepin School District.
Beck told the graduates that every one of them can take her story and change it to their situation.
“Being a, fill in the blank, does not define you,” she told them. “It is a chapter in your story, a stepping stone to where you want to be, a check mark on your list. You deserve to be here, at your graduation ceremony, and to feel the support system that stands beside you, cheering you on, with offered encouragement, guidance and unwavering belief in your abilities.”
She encouraged graduates to embrace the challenges ahead with courage.
“Your potential is limitless. It is you who has the power to shape your future, to make a difference and to leave a lasting impact on the world around you,” she said.
Superintendent says kindness matters
School and district staff, school board members and other dignitaries were recognized during the ceremony, including members of Ivan Sand’s family.
Daniel Bittman, superintendent of the Elk River Area School District, also spoke. He gave the welcome at the graduation ceremony.
“To our graduates, this is your night. It’s a night of celebration, of reflection and anticipation for what lies ahead,” he said.
Graduates’ dedication, perseverance and resilience have brought them here today.
“Your journey has been marked by both challenges and triumphs, and through it all you have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and to grow,” Bittman said.
As the graduates stand on the threshold of a new chapter, he encouraged them to carry forward the lessons learned at ISD 728, embrace curiosity, nurture their passions, try to make a positive impact and remember that success is not measured solely by their achievements and what they accomplish, but by the kindness that they show others and the integrity with which they live their lives.
Student scholarship awards were also presented.
As the ceremony reached its culmination, Principal Deanna Chiodo presented the Class of 2024. The superintendent and school board members, John Anderson, Mindy Freiberg, Sarah Hamlin, Joel Nelson, Holly Thompson, Christi Tullbane and Sara Weis, then came up on stage. As Chiodo read graduates’ names, one by one they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas.
Most Popular
Comments / 0