Sycamore High School seniors say goodbye at commencement

Graduate Julianna Koch lined up with her classmates in the hallways of Sycamore High School before the ceremony Sunday.

Koch said she was feeling several emotions all at once about graduation, and she said she never thought this day would come.

“Four years ago, I was just transferring back from private school, home-school [and] back to public school, and I never thought I would actually kind of get to this point with everything that went on familywise,” Koch said.

When Koch was 8 years old, her father died.

She said her family moved to Sycamore after that.

Between “family drama,” as Koch called it, moving and traveling between schools, she said her high school graduation day was a long time coming.

“You just never expect it,” Koch said. “It just kind of all hits you at once.”

Koch said she has been in school with her graduating classmates since she was in eighth grade.

“To me, it’s just special graduating with everybody that you grew up around, even if you weren’t with them for so long,” Koch said.

As the band played “Pomp and Circumstance,” family and friends documented more than 300 graduates starting to file into the high school’s field house with several snapped photos – some accompanied with the occasional shouted request for a graduate to smile.

Several of those graduates were decorated with different cords denoting memberships to honor societies and other academic and service achievements.

Sycamore School District 427 Superintendent Kathy Countryman said she always makes a point to integrate recognition and remembrance of U.S. veterans with the high school’s graduation ceremony, since it often coincides with Memorial Day weekend.

When Countryman asked for
graduating students enlisting
in the military to stand, three rose from their seats.

One of those students was Jethro James. His mother, Tamara Watts, said James is enlisting in the U.S. Army.

Watts said her focus has always been her kids, and she said it’s bittersweet to see her youngest child graduate from high school. She said she’s proud of him and his accomplishments.

“He’ll be leaving, so then I have to figure out what I have to do for myself,” Watts said with a laugh.

Sycamore High School Principal Tim Carlson said this graduating class was a “humble group” of students.

Carlson said the graduates are empathetic and kind, and he said those are traits that shouldn’t be overlooked in today’s society.

“They’re good, decent human beings, which is a reflection of their parents and the community, and of the teachers that we have here that are working here every day,” Carlson said.

Graduate Jacob Peloquin was recognized as class valedictorian with a 4.63 weighted GPA during the ceremony. He will be attending Georgia Tech in the fall and plans to study mechanical engineering.

Peloquin said the high school’s surrounding community provided a welcoming environment for the Class of 2017.

“Throughout the years, we’ve heard […] the slogan ‘Sycamore’s been good to us,’ and it’s really a true statement,” Peloquin said.

J.J. Madden was class president and recognized as salutatorian with a 4.5 weighted GPA.

He said he was excited to share this day with his friends and classmates, and that he’s also excited for the next step in his life, which is pursuing a business degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Madden said this class was involved not just in extracurricular activities, but also within the community.

“I think we left a really good mark,” Madden said. “I think we’ll be a class to remember for the years to come.”