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ASHLAND HIGH SCHOOL Ashland High School bids farewell to barrier-breaking class of 2015 Ashland says goodbye to Class of 2015 Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 31, 2015 at 1:51 PM Updated Jun 1, 2015 at 1:27 PM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 31, 2015 at 1:51 PM Updated Jun 1, 2015 at 1:27 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Ashland High Graduation » Social News The keynote speaker joked about smuggling in beach balls “Midnight Express” style only minutes after principal Michelle Zundel snatched a beach ball out of the fray and cracked, “Thank you so much for that early gift.” And it was Zundel, fittingly, in her last graduation-day speech before leaving to take another job a few exits north, who praised the senior class for its courage to tackle change head-on. “They have broken down barriers,” she said. And they may break down a few more before they’re done, but first the class of 2015 gathered one last time on Friday at the bandshell in Lithia Park, where the community came together to congratulate and encourage a much-heralded group that blew the doors off a decades-old homecoming tradition, united for a social media campaign to help track down a missing classmate and, according to Zundel, is headed to four-year colleges at an 86-percent clip. The hour-and-a-half long ceremony in the balmy heat honored four valedictorians with perfect 4.0 grade-point-averages, included a stirring two-song mash-up performance by outgoing seniors Katy Barnard and Mimi Schaefer-Sharp and a hilarious tag-team speech by student body co-presidents Brielle Preskenis and Jackson Richmond, and it was all punctuated with a 10-minute speech by keynote speaker, television host, criminal lawyer and AHS alum Darren Kavinoky. A legal analyst for shows like Dr. Phil and Entertainment Tonight, Kavinoky placed an exclamation point at the end of his message with a crowd-pleasing metaphor that drew one of the loudest ovations of the day: “This is more than just choosing what dog you’re going to feed at any given moment — is it going to be the dog of fear or is it going to be the dog of courage?” he said. “I know that within each one of you resides a Grizzly. And that Grizzly can kick the ass of any dog.” Preshow entertainment featuring live music by students provided a nostalgic soundtrack starting at 5:15 p.m., about 15 minutes after organizers opened up the lawn to spectators, sparking a mad dash by blanket-toting parents. The processional began an hour later, with the 210 graduating seniors walking single-file, snaking their way along a path above the park before eventually marching through the crowd and up onto the stage as the band, conducted by outgoing performing arts teacher Jon Soderberg-Chase, played Pomp and Circumstance. It was athletic director Karl Kemper who kicked off the proceedings with his signature pre-game roar, “It’s a great day to be a Grizzly”, delivered with a little extra verve. Before introducing Zundel, Kemper praised her as a visionary with heart. He then handed her the mic and Zundel, who will begin her new job as chief academic officer of the Medford School District beginning July 1, quickly turned the spotlight back to the students. “It’s about you,” she said. Zundel ticked off a list of the class’s strongest qualities, stopping only briefly to snatch a wayward beach ball. She echoed many of those thoughts before her official speech, praising the class of 2015 for its determination and courage during a short break in the pre-ceremony scramble. “There is a wonderful mix of emotion tonight,” she said. “It’s a celebration that they are launching into their young adulthood and there’s a lot of nostalgia and a lot of reminiscing, and you’ll hear some of that in the speeches. “They have broken so many barriers. Women on the wrestling team, changes to long-held traditions — homecoming and prom court. Things that have not been questioned previously. They’ve done a lot of work with diversity and inclusion and looking at our system as a school, how we serve economically disadvantaged kids. They have a real social conscious and are removing barriers to human potential. It’s really exciting.” Preskenis and Richmond followed Zundel and held their own, entertaining the crowd with a tag-team talk part reminiscence, part comedy bit that answered the question, “What did we learn?” Preskenis played it straight and Richmond delivered the punch lines. “From (fine arts teacher) Sam Scharf, we learned how to work together as a team and advocate for the changes we believe in,” Preskenis said. “And,” Richmond chimed in, “that you can actually say everything sarcastically and still be a sensitive mountain man.” Later, the valedictorians and salutatorians were announced, and student speakers Samara Diab, Sonora Mindling-Werling and Sierra Webster took turns at the podium. Webster, who moved to Ashland from Georgia following her junior year, thanked the community and her basketball teammates for making the transition a smooth one. (This paragraph has been changed to correct where Webster lived before moving to Ashland.) “There’s no place quite like Ashland that I’ve ever encountered,” she said. The valedictorians were Webster, Diab, Mindling-Werling and Lillian Huang. Senior class president Kelsey Gida and vice president Paris Fox introduced Kavinoky, 48, who graduated from AHS in 1984. They listed his credentials, then noted that he also won KOBI-TV’s 1983 air band contest, netting him a free pizza from Angelos. Kavinoky, a charismatic speaker whose road to stardom included plenty of ups and downs, said before going onstage that returning to the place he grew up was almost sensory overload. “It’s such a trip, and Ashland is such a special place,” he said. “I think for me, it really brings me back to what I loved about living here. I think it’s almost like you need to be away from it to really get some perspective on how truly amazing a place like Ashland is. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to be here and to grow up here and I think a lot of the success that I’ve had in my life is really owed directly to the experience that I’ve had here.” His speech alternated from light to heavy, and he pleased the crowd with a self-deprecating sense of humor, noting that the first time he saw his name in print was in the Ashland Daily Tidings. “Sadly,” he added, “it was in the police log.” Later, he said, “Every single person goes through life being one of two things at all times — either an example of what’s possible or a warning of what’s possible. And the amazing thing being here, having this view of this incredible crowd in red and white, is I see a lot of examples about what is possible for a person to do and for a community to do, and I’m just proud to be one of you.” The ceremony ended in the usual way, with Zundel asking the graduates to move their tassels from the right to the left. “I present to you the class of 2015,” she said, and the class responded accordingly, flinging their caps to the sky. Moments later, in the mele of hugs and selfies that followed, Richmond could be seen navigating through the throng in search of his family. He had plenty to celebrate. Two days before graduating, Richmond, who helped usher in the school’s first-ever gender-neutral homecoming court last fall, found out by phone that he had been accepted to Yale University. He received the news late at night and when he walked into his home to drop the bomb, nobody was there. No worries. On Friday, everybody was there. “I can’t believe it,” he said of graduating. “It feels surreal. I’m just really happy and have a lot of people to hug.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 31, 2015 at 1:51 PM Updated Jun 1, 2015 at 1:27 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Fantasy Football Breakdown of Top WRs Jun. 1, 2015 at 12:46 am Early Breakdown of Top Fantasy RBs for 2015 May. 31, 2015 at 2:10 am Jones on Redskins Won't Diminish Morris' Fantasy Value May. 30, 2015 at 8:02 pm Fantasy Football Outlook for Cowboys Stars May. 29, 2015 at 2:26 am Fantasy Breakdown of Top Quarterbacks May. 24, 2015 at 2:51 am Fantasy Football Outlook for Patriots' Stars May. 22, 2015 at 6:05 am Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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