Lisle Senior High School Class of 2011

Friday, June 3, 2011 Lisle Senior High School held its commencement ceremony. Steve Green conducted Pomp and Circumstance for the last time before after 30 years of extraordinary service, amazing performance as always. This was the first graduation for , LSHS principal who welcomed the audience before we were treated to musical selections from Patricia Kerback’s talented choir.

I had to write this column not as an objective reporter, but as a proud mother. My son was among Friday's 138 graduating seniors. We moved to Lisle when my adult children they were in fourth and second grades, making the class of 2011 the first group I have had the pleasure of knowing from 3-year-old preschool through high school.

The cover of this yearbook is "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," and that is how I would describe the evening. Reginald Jansen, salutatorian, and Michael Swartz, valedictorian, delivered individual, engaging, crowd-pleasing speeches. I am not taking anything away from the administrators that shared valuable advice, but Reggie and Mike had everyone, including the graduates, laughing, applauding and smiling. I know both of those young men and I was pleasantly surprised by how funny their speeches were. I doubt anyone will forget how they personalized the content, avoiding the pitfall of regurgitating a packaged “graduation” speech that we all heard too many times.

District school board president Pam Ahlmann selected the word 'challenging' to describe this student body. She spoke of all the challenges they rose to and conquered. The talent ranges from humanitarian, artistic, athletic and most of all, academic. Winning back-to-back state was not a fluke. There were 34 National Honor Society members and 50 recipients of a total of 150 scholarships.

It is not uncommon to meet people that have moved to the area just to live in the big, nationally-known school district next door; and good for them, but LSHS proves every year that our kids are doing very well.  I want to go on record that this group has the potential to put little Lisle on the map. I can’t wait to follow their careers.

The day before the graduation my kindergartner (Class of 2023) participated in  a small certificate ceremony. I closed my eyes and saw the seniors at their kindergarten graduation in little paper mortarboards gathered in the gym at Schiesher Elementary School, posing with buddies who in many cases are still their friends. Trust me when I say it does go by in a flash.

As the names were called to receive diplomas so many memories flooded my mind. I thought of the scout camping trips, the NFL draft sessions we hosted, the impromptu sleepovers and me worrying if there was enough breakfast food. I remembered the fourth grade Chicago boat tour. In addition to the traditional freezing rain, my group had a student that I was sure would accidentally fall off the vessel.  I recalled the eighth grade graduation dance when the girls kicked off their heels and the boys wore ties wrapped around their heads. (They came to party.)

I also thought of my peers, the volunteer moms and dads who also “graduated” that night, their youngest has completed high school meaning no more Home and School Organization meetings, no more traveling to far away games or attending concerts. I often tease my emancipated friends that they now have the time to make their own clothes or learn a foreign language. We spent years making sure the room parties were perfect, grooming them on picture day and chauffeured them around until they learned to drive. The retiring volunteer parents of 2011 will be missed, thank you for your service.

In closing I am blessed to know teenagers that restored my faith in the next generation. All too often you hear that teens are selfish, rude, basically unpleasant to be around (and don’t get me started on the music), but the more time I spent with this class the more I believed that there are more good kids than bad ones. Godspeed Lisle Class of 2011, you will always be near and dear to our hearts.