EDMOND—Eleven Imperial Academy seniors received their diplomas and heard about the importance of teaching during the school’s eighth graduation ceremony on May 24 at the John Amos Field House. The evening included a student speech, a keynote address from the principal, a retrospective slideshow, a piano performance, and numerous award presentations. It was the seventh graduating class to include online students—10 of the 11 seniors were onliners, and nine of the 10 traveled to Edmond to attend the ceremony. A total of 49 students have now graduated since Imperial Academy opened for the 2008-2009 academic year.
After the processional, local senior Michael Davis delivered a short speech centered around the 2015-2016 Imperial Academy theme: “Teach All Nations.” He drew attention to the examples of teachers he admires: his father, Herbert W. Armstrong College instructor Brian Davis, who he said told him that a teacher must know 10 times the material covered in class; his guitar teacher, Jeremiah Jacques, whose proficiency he said showed him the years of hard work it takes to become a teacher; and history teacher Shane Granger, who he said gave students a vivid picture of teaching in the future alongside Moses, Noah, Herbert Armstrong and Imperial Academy founder Gerald Flurry.
Senior Bill Wallace played a flashy rendition of Beethoven’s Sonata in C-Sharp minor, Op. 27, no. 2 (III. Presto Agitato) on the piano, throwing his entire body into his lengthy performance and rocking the instrument back and forth on its wheels. As the audience applauded, a heavily breathing Wallace took a bow.
The year’s retrospective video began with Principal Wayne Turgeon introducing the year’s theme at orientation last August and asking, “How big is your vision?” The video included glimpses of Roy L. Ram (Imperial’s new mascot this year), students in class, teachers in action, sporting competitions, musical performances, field trips, show-and-tell presentations, kindergartners in the kpcg radio studio, obstacle courses, wrestling matches, the biannual land run reenactment, smiling friends during lunch break, a tea party, children on the playground, the principal playing the accordion, Irish dancers, and baby pictures and senior portraits of the graduates. The slideshow ended with Mr. Flurry saying that Imperial students are here “to learn how to love, to learn how to live, to learn how to expand the God Family name all over this Earth and then eventually out into this universe.”
After passing out dozens of awards to kindergartners, seniors and students from every grade in between, Mr. Turgeon admonished the audience to “go ye therefore, and teach all nations,” citing Matthew 28 verse 19. He described a day in the near future when all people will speak one pure language, the entire Earth will be inhabitable, and the students of today will be teachers sought after by millions who want to learn God’s way.
Mr. Turgeon then introduced the 11 seniors, who are also all graduates of the 36-lesson Herbert W. Armstrong Bible Correspondence Course, a rare achievement among the 100,000 or more who have enrolled in the course. All but Alexa Turgeon, who currently resides at the Philadelphia Church of God campus in Edstone, England, had traveled to Edmond and were on hand to walk the stage, completing their Imperial Academy careers, and looking forward to big goals for the future.
Senior Class of 2016
* With distinction: grade point average of 3.3 to 3.54
* With high distinction: grade point average of 3.55 to 3.74
* With highest distinction: grade point average of 3.75 to 4.0
Cathryn Bancroft (with highest distinction)
Callie Cocomise (with highest distinction)
Michael Davis
Julia Goddard (with high distinction)
Brianna MacFarland
Warren Reinsch
Jeannine Robinson (with distinction)
Stephanie Szabo (with distinction)
Alexa Turgeon (with highest distinction)
Bill Wallace (with high distinction)
Austin Williams
Kindergarten Class of 2016
Titus Cocomise
Izabela Henderson
Ryan Orleans
Emilianne Saranga
3rd-6th Grade Geography Bee Winning Team
Maggie Dilbeck
Micky Dilbeck
Vanessa Henderson
Jacquelynn Locher
Jonathan Saranga
3rd-6th Grade Geography Bee Individual Winners
1st place—Vanessa Henderson
2nd place—Evan Hensley
3rd place—Brett Williams
Elementary School Music Award
Megan Jenkins
Noah Hilliker
Secondary School Music Award
Zoe Hilliker
Micah Turgeon
Elementary School Citizenship Award
Kindergarten—Titus Cocomise
1st-2nd grade—Sydney Kaleho
3rd-4th grade—Jacquelynn Locher
5th-6th grade—Vanessa Henderson
Academic Excellence Award
Kindergarten—Izabela Henderson
1st-2nd grade—Maxwel Orleans
3rd-4th grade—Caitlin Heerma
5th-6th grade—Evan Hensley
Physical Education: Work Ethic
1st-2nd grade—Nathaniel Morley
3rd-4th grade—Jonathan Saranga
5th-6th grade—Evan Hensley
Secondary—Jordan Saranga
Physical Education: Sportsmanship
1st-2nd grade—Maxwel Orleans
3rd-4th grade—Brett Williams
5th-6th grade—Micky Dilbeck
Secondary—Zoe Hilliker
Honor Roll
Grade point average of 3.55 to 3.99
Matthew Barreiro
Cami Eagle
Vienna Flurry
Zechariah Henderson
Audrey Locher
Seth Malone
Jordan Saranga
Rebecca Szabo
Micah Turgeon
Perfect gpa of 4.0
Zoe Hilliker
Hannah Worrell