ACH grads sent off with a song

Jun. 14—COULEE CITY — The 15 graduating seniors of the Almira Coulee Hartline High School class of 2023 gathered on the stage in the gym on the afternoon of Saturday, June 10, to receive their diplomas.

And in each one of those diplomas was a sticky note with a song title.

"I thought of a conversation I'd actually had with (co-valedictorian) Isabel (Brink) earlier when she was working on her valedictorian speech," said Kelley Boyd, who is both Superintendent of the Almira Coulee Hartline School District and principal of ACH High School.

"I mentioned to her that in different times that I've had to write a speech or an article, that's I've tried to start off with a quote from a famous person or a song that kind of sets the tone of what I am trying to say," Boyd said.

So she decided to follow her own advice, pulled out 15 sticky notes, and proceeded to write song titles for each graduating senior: Cody Allsbrook, McKenzie Baergen, Isabel Brink, George Chapman, Jacob DeFehr, Ehlana Higgs, Kearra Higgs, James Holcomb, Chloe Jensen, Adrianna Marchesseault, Kinzie McCall, April McGuire, Prairie Parrish, Kaylee Wodtka and Tristen Wood.

"Sticky notes are harder than I thought," she said as she scribbled the song titles like "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Live Like Your Dying" and "It's a Wonderful World."

It was a personal touch from a principal of a small high school — 88 students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year, according to data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction — who is also the district superintendent overseeing three schools with a total of 181 students.

Co-valedictorian Isabel Brink, who shared the top honors with Kaylee Wodtka, said she'd experienced that same personal touch during the few years she's lived in the district.

"As many of you know, I haven't lived here my whole life. I moved to Washington in 2017 from Naples, Italy, and Hampton, Virginia, and I believe this has given me a unique perspective on the ACH community," Brink said. "I am so grateful to this community for teaching me and welcoming me with open arms."

Before coming to the ACH area, Brink said she really didn't have a place where she felt she could belong, and she has learned from her classmates — many who have lived in the area their entire lives — what it means to belong.

"From elementary to senior year, we have been blessed with a community that cares about us, our education and our accomplishments," she said. "We have expressed our gratitude by giving back to our community."

"This community is like no other I have lived in, and I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to live in such a community," Brink added.

Kaylee Wodtka noted that the 2023 graduates are taking a number of different paths, from vocational training, finding work, going to college, to the three — one-fifth of the graduating class — who are enlisting in the military. And that includes Wodtka, who will start U.S. Navy basic training at Naval Station Great Lakes north of Chicago this summer.

"I can't think of a more defining trait for this class, the drive to do something different," Wodtka said. "There's something that is going to work for each of us out there. But there's going to be some things that don't work for some of us as well."

Whatever happens, Wodtka said the ACH graduates of 2023 will have an opportunity to share some amazing stories of all the places life has taken them and the knowledge that they all started out at ACH High School.

"With each of us going our different ways, our 20-year reunion is going to be filled with stories of travel, learning, unique experiences and the sharing of our individual milestones," she said.

Salutatorian Prairie Parrish spoke of memories as well. But at the end of her speech, she simply wanted to savor the moment with her classmates.

"Yeah, we did it!" she said.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com