Page 11 - Sanger Herald 6-6-19 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 3B • THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2019
Sanger graduates reach a goal and keep moving toward a better life
Sanger
ByMikeNemeth
SangerHerald
Laura Verdin addressed her fellow students, standing behind a podium as the Sanger Unified superintendent, the district’s board of trustees and a bunch of family and friends looked on.
“When I was a teenager, I followed a dark path,” she said. “I dropped out at 15. My dad did the best he could.”
That was then. On May 30, Verdin was selected to speak before her class of 53 graduates in the Washington Academic Middle School auditorium. Her message was one many in the audience could relate to. She said she enrolled in Sanger Adult School to restart her education and broaden her opportunities.
“There were times I wanted to give up,” she said. “(But) I’m not a quitter.”
Nor were any of her classmates. Each had a story. Each had struggled to overcome odds and succeeded.
“Here’s to new beginnings,” Verdin said. “We’ve achieved an important goal. Let’s see what’s next.”
Lori Hawkyard, Adult School principal, said it had been a privilege helping to guide her class of 2019. “Adult school was not your original plan,” Hawkyard said. “Many of you had to work to support your families. You had to summon the courage. You had to consider what was missing and what you wanted for yourself.”
Hawkyard said graduation would be the first of many accomplishments and urged her students to use their determination on career goals. “A wise person once told me every day is a job interview,” she said.
Verdin, 34, said she got pregnant at 17, and it changed her life in multiple ways. That child this year will be moving onto high school from WAMS with a 3.4 grade point average, she said.
Verdin said she’s looking to get a job as an administrative assistant. But she has a master plan. “I’m trying to get a job to earn some money and then go to school,” she said.
some advice for others who mayhavefoundthemselves in a situation similar to her own. “Stay focused. Stay determined. And always believe you can,” she said. “There’s always someone waiting for you.”
Graduate Erik Morales, 21, said he’s looking to get a better job and move onto college to navigate a better future. “It feels unbelievable,” he said. “I didn’t expect to graduate this year. But hard work and determination helped me pull through.”
Morales said his girlfriend Sara Morales was a big reason for his success. “I helped him with almost every subject,” she said. “English, history, science. I had to make him do it when he didn’t want to.”
Laura Verdin credits her family for her success.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
She attributed much of her success to the support of her husband, Enrique Mendoza. And she had
See Grad, Page 2B Rick Church bids farewell to graduates
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Principal Rick Church prepared for what would be his final address to students graduating from Kings River and Taft High schools.
He made sure the chairs aligned perfectly on stage in the Washington Academic Middle School auditorium, that the visiting Sanger Unified dignitaries each got a program, frosted water bottle and a yellow rose and that the podium had his trademark two towels for wiping down his cleanly shaved scalp when he spoke to his graduates that night. The towels are a tradition.
“Yep,” he said in a largely empty and still-cool auditorium. “This is my last. Fourteen years. Long time. I think this turned out to be the nicest.”
Church pointed out the empty chairs, gold with white seat pads. They were special for the event, not steel fidget-inducing seats plucked from racks that are the go-to for nearly every school in the country. Then he talked about the meaning of each graduate receiving the yellow rose, a practice that reflects the efforts over the years Church and his staff have expended to steer their students into successful lives.
“They are to pass that rose to someone who helped them get where they’re at tonight,” he said.
Judging by the crowd that gathered to watch, quite a few friends and
All hail the power of Jesus’ name
Rev. E. P. Scott was a missionary, living in India during the 1800s.
At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, but against advice of his fellow missionaries, Scott set out alone to visit a remote village. He was determined to share the Gospel with a dangerous savage tribe. Several days into his journey, Scott was met by a large group of warriors who quickly surrounded him, each one pointing a spear toward his heart.
Expecting to die, Scott made a decision to use his
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
success is to focus on goals and new beginnings. “All the challenges we have gone through,” she said, repeating her speech in Spanish.
Speaker Yajaira Llanes of Kings River called out Church. “You made this year an incredible experience,” she said. “Without the additional support, we would not be here.”
Church accepted a position at the Fresno County Office of Education in Fresno. Jon Tillotson moves from Sanger High to replace him.
Elizabeth Jaurequi of Kings River said her fellow graduates did what was expected of them. “Each of us has a history of failures and mistakes,” she said. “Despite this, we can achieve greatness. We have grown so much in our time in high school.”
Jaurequi likened that evolution from student to graduate as the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. Then she said some may not prove all that graceful. She also urged those in attendance to do their part in recycling to prevent the oceans from being overrun by plastic trash. “Take care of yourselves and our planet.”
Leeah Quezada of Kings River asked that her fellow graduates “remember this day.” She said they had overcome obstacles but are now part of a vibrant class of 2019. “Fourteen years ago, there were only four
See Church, Page 2B
into almost every existing language. Here’s the first verse: “All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall; bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.”
Pastor Sam Estes is city advance director and facilitates the Sanger Community Task Force that meets the first and third Tuesdays every month. He can be reached at pastorsam@ communitiesinc.org.
Katrina Duran gets a hug after her class graduated May 31. About 100 students got diplomas from Kings River and Taft.
family likely participated somewhat in the process. And the group wasn’t shy, hollering for their favorite graduate when appropriate May 31. Very few seats went unfilled.
last few breaths to glorify God and to hopefully stir something within the hearts of his captors. He took out his violin, which he always carried on him, closed his eyes and began to play and sing “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name,” in the native language of the warriors.
After singing the first verse, the second, the third and then, beginning the fourth, Scott realized he was still standing, and that all around him was a peaceful quiet. Opening his eyes he saw every spear lowered. There stood those mighty warriors, with tears in their eyes. Throughout the remainder of his life, Scott spent much time with
“Tonight we’ve arrived at a time of the year when graduates stand at the edge of new beginnings,” Church said, addressing the crowd from his podium and starting the ceremony.
“Tomorrow, you’ll be on a different journey. Life is a tremendous journey, and the course is determined by the choices you make every day.”
And he characterized
every “failed experience” as one step closer to success.
Taft graduate Nayeli Cabanillas, one of four student speakers, said the key to realizing that
the Methodist movement and settled down with a dissenting congregation, which he pastored until his death in 1792.
In addition to preaching, Perronet was also a skilled writer, and in the latter years of his life he published anonymously, in a series of small books, a number of hymns he had composed. One of these books, “Occasional Verses, Moral and Sacred,” contains as its third entry the hymn titled “On the Resurrection,” which is now known as “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.”
The music was composed by Oliver Holden. The hymn has been translated
PASTOR’S CORNER
this tribe, sharing the love of God. This is just one story associated with “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name,” which has been hailed as the National Anthem of Christendom.
Pastor Sam Estes
influence of the Wesley’s prevailed, and he became a traveling Methodist preacher.
Louis Benson, a famous hymnologist, records in his “Studies of
It was written in 1779 by Rev. Edward Perronet. Perronet was born in England in 1726, the grandson of a French immigrant. His father, Vincent, was a clergyman in the Church of England and a close friend and associate of John and Charles Wesley. Though Perronet had planned to follow his father into Anglican ministry, the
Familiar Hymns, Second Series” that Perronet was a capable preacher and sincere follower of Christ. For some reason, however, he developed a strong antagonism toward the Church of England and began to express it in his behavior and speech.
This proved to be a source of trouble for the Wesleys. Perronet eventually left