{"id":16403,"date":"2016-06-22T18:11:15","date_gmt":"2016-06-22T18:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/?p=16403"},"modified":"2016-06-22T19:36:10","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T19:36:10","slug":"br-grads-get-life-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"BR grads get life lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY STACI WILSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Briar<\/a>

Briar Susavage is presented his diploma by Blue Ridge Board President Chris Lewis. PHOTO BY STACI WILSON<\/p><\/div>\n

Retiring 12th grade English teacher Rebecca Williams offered some \u201clife lessons\u201d to the Blue Ridge Class of 2016 at Saturday\u2019s graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n

Williams, who taught for over 38 years, encouraged the graduates to celebrate \u2013 even the little things. \u201cCherish the time period in which you\u2019ve grown up,\u201d she said, noting historic changes they\u2019ve seen in their years. She said there would be happenings that make them question the world\u2019s integrity. \u201cWhen you see the world lacking integrity, find it in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her parting words to the class, Williams said, \u201cYou got this. You are well-educated, well supported, and well loved. Remember who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Ridge Class of 2016 is \u201cmore than meets the eye behind the red and white gowns,\u201d Salutatorian Viktoria Layton said, \u201c\u2026with a diverse set of abilities,\u201d crediting the athletes, artists, engineers, writers, employees and poets on the stage with her. \u201cI am more than happy to<\/p>\n

\"Amber<\/a>

Amber Brecht, Kaitlyn Konsur and Lindsey Rupakus are all smiles after receiving their diplomas. PHOTO BY STACI WILSON<\/p><\/div>\n

have been given the opportunity to grow along with all of you as a class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valedictorian Nolan Hausser also paid tribute to the class camaraderie. \u201cWe started from the bottom and my whole team is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hausser advised his fellow graduates to always have a positive attitude. \u201cEvery choice affects the next choice,\u201d he said, \u201cso make decisions with optimism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blue Ridge<\/strong>
\n Class of 2016<\/strong>
\nEvan J.Aldrich, Desiree I. Alvarez, Lindy L. Arzola-Velez, Harley D. Atherholt, David L. Austin, Tatum J. Bennett, Summer N. Bledsoe, Amber N. Brecht, Brianna R. Brewer, Taylor L. Bronson, Halona A. Burgess, Alexandra K. Button, Strom D. Butts-Weaver, Kathryn R. Carpenter, Elliot D. Colwell, Katherine M. Colwell, Zachary K. Conrad, Aaron T. Cook, Brannon R. Cooper, Bailey K. Cramer, Tanisha A. Darrow, Jonathan D. DeMartino, Ashlee P. Derrick, Jordan J. Goff, Taylor R., Hall, Austin R. Harper, Bernadette Harris, Connor L. Hartman, Nolan K. Hausser, Cera A. Hearn, Kayla A. Helms, Ty E. Herbert, Kimberly A. Holbrook, Autumn M. Holgate, Terry K. Jackson, Noah J. Jennings, Makayla J. Kays, Michael J. Kelly, Kimberly A. Klim, Kaitlyn M. Konsur, Ben R. Kowalewski, Viktoria M. Layton, Natasha L. Luce, Nicole L. Luce, Andrea N. Martel, Dylan M. Monks, Zachary C.H. Morris, James S. Morton, Janelle H. Oakley, Julio E. Padilla, Harrison S. Parsons, Sarthak Patel, Dorie M. Penny, Tray J. Perry, Mathew A. Philpott, Kassidy E. Potter, Wesley R. Richardson, Abigail A. Row, Lindsey N. Rupakus, Makala M. Sharer, Jeremy M. Shiptoski, Amber N. Smith, Nathanyl J. Smith, Sabrina E. Smith, Marc R. Stanton, Jesse T. Stone, Nova R. Sullivan, Briar S. Susavage, Nicholas J. Swaha, Mikayla M. Tanzini, Audrey J. Tyler, Jady Viruet, Autumn A. Wayman, Summer B. Wega, Olivia P. White, Nicholas Wilmot, Bethany A. Yarrison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY STACI WILSON Retiring 12th grade English teacher Rebecca Williams offered some \u201clife lessons\u201d to the Blue Ridge Class of 2016 at Saturday\u2019s graduation ceremony….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nBR grads get life lessons - PS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BR grads get life lessons - PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY STACI WILSON Retiring 12th grade English teacher Rebecca Williams offered some \u201clife lessons\u201d to the Blue Ridge Class of 2016 at Saturday\u2019s graduation ceremony....\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-22T18:11:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-06-22T19:36:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2029\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/\",\"name\":\"BR grads get life lessons - PS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-22T18:11:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-06-22T19:36:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg\",\"width\":2029,\"height\":1730,\"caption\":\"Briar Susavage is presented his diploma by Blue Ridge Board President Chris Lewis. PHOTO BY STACI WILSON\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BR grads get life lessons\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/\",\"name\":\"PS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5\",\"name\":\"tpennysaver\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tpennysaver\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/author\/tpennysaver\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BR grads get life lessons - PS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BR grads get life lessons - PS","og_description":"BY STACI WILSON Retiring 12th grade English teacher Rebecca Williams offered some \u201clife lessons\u201d to the Blue Ridge Class of 2016 at Saturday\u2019s graduation ceremony....","og_url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/","og_site_name":"PS","article_published_time":"2016-06-22T18:11:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-06-22T19:36:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2029,"height":1730,"url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"tpennysaver","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tpennysaver","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/","url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/","name":"BR grads get life lessons - PS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-22T18:11:15+00:00","dateModified":"2016-06-22T19:36:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/BR_BriarSusavage.jpg","width":2029,"height":1730,"caption":"Briar Susavage is presented his diploma by Blue Ridge Board President Chris Lewis. PHOTO BY STACI WILSON"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/06\/22\/br-grads-get-life-lessons\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BR grads get life lessons"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/","name":"PS","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5","name":"tpennysaver","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tpennysaver"},"url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/author\/tpennysaver\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}