Graduating class celebrates Somers legacy

I had the distinct privilege this year of accompanying the Somers eighth-graders on their history trip, returning the Flathead Valley last Thursday evening for a few hours of sleep before another full day and eighth grade graduation on Friday night.

Over the years, I have grown closer to the students of Lakeside and Somers than I ever would have imaged before I became the West Shore News' reporter. I have covered numerous school events, plays, activities, sports, student achievements and field trips.

That exposure allowed me to form some incredible friendships with the incredible people who work and teach in the Somers schools-people whom I look forward to seeing around the community or whenever I stop in to the schools. However, it also allowed me to watch many of the students whom I have photographed or written about as they graduated from one grade to the next, maturing as individuals, as athletes and even as leaders.

While on the history trip, it was sobering to realize that I knew about 90 percent of the names of the students with whom I traveled-including first and last names for about half of them. Some of them - like Kian Ahern and Rachel Stevens - I have known for years, along with their parents. Others, like Victor Milender, I only had the opportunity to get to know during the trip, but consider myself privileged to have met.

I can still recall Savannah Mahlen playing the part of Alice in her fifth grade play, accompanied by Parker Sutton as the White Rabbit. And, how could I forget Kyle Kozinski's becoming involved in the Somers Boy Scouts troop or competing in the sporting clays competition with his father, every year during Winterfest.

I remember when Samy Dyer moved to Lakeside and accompanied the fifth grade classes on their trip to Plumb Creek and the Forestry Expo - it also happened to be Johanna Ward's birthday, as I recall. Samy was completely unafraid to pick up the biggest fish she could get her hands on - it was dead, of course - and hoist it up right next to her face for a picture.

To this day, there is very little that Samy is afraid of, but over the past year I have also discovered that she is a repository of far more significant talents than handling fish, not the least of which are her gifts as both an artist and a writer.

She was also among the graduates who chose to address the graduating class and Somers faculty with speech she had written for the occasion.

"Even though our last names are different, this is our family, our home, the SMS," Samy told her peers from the podium at the front of the graduating class and their families. "You are always there in the dark with us, leading us back into the light of education, discipline, humility and responsibility. You have helped us understand our hopes and dreams, and they shall become reality. We shall never forget you, SMS Family."

"You have told us to learn from our weakness and turn it into our strengths," she continued. "We shall heed your words and sing it to those who have forgotten."

I beamed with pride to see the young woman that Samy had become and choked back tears when I told her as much later that evening, as I took one last picture, this time without the fish.

I also watched as Briana Patyk, who has been a part of the Somers family for but a short time but instantly bonded with her peers and became a leader in so many different ways, proving herself as a student, as an athlete and as a devoted friend.

Briana related the story of her introduction to Somers Middle School, to which she came from a school of 1,500 students in the suburbs of Chicago. SMS boasted an enrollment of 180 students, and Briana was shocked to learn that what she initially believed to be an extension of the school was none other than the school itself.

"I didn't know any of the teachers or any of the students," she recalled. "I didn't know who I would meet or if I would fit in. All I knew was that everyone would know everything and you just and you just had to be nice."

She went on to recount her instant acceptance at the school, as the students and staff alike introduced themselves and made her feel at ease. She described that first day as "a wonderful experience."

"I knew right away that everyone was different in their own way, but they all knew each other, enjoyed Somers, and came together as a group in the end."

That's a great way to put it.

Other students recalled the tragic death of their former teacher, Dawn Bowker, when they were in the sixth grade. They told of how their grief and loss served only to bring them closer and make them more of a family. They applauded the empathy, compassion and leadership of the Somers faculty and administration.

The keynote speech was delivered by Duncan Aylor, who recently graduated from Flathead High School but was still attending SMS when I began reporting on the West Shore. Aylor recalled his own days at the school with fondness and encouraged the eighth grade students to treasure their own memories as well as to remain close to their Somers friends throughout high school.

Aylor recognized the potential of the Somers students, many of whom have already distinguished themselves in one area or another. Aylor said he knew these students would continue to distinguish themselves at the high school. He encouraged them to become actively involved, thereby modeling the qualities of excellence and leadership that so many have already exhibited.

Hats off to another group of eighth graders who have inherited the Somers legacy and continue the long-standing tradition of lifting one another a little higher so that they may succeed together.