Graduating students celebrated and blessed

It was an inspiring and uplifting occasion at Sunday's Wasco High School baccalaureate ceremony. Pastors gave encouraging words of advice for the graduating seniors, and there was gospel music by students.

Pastor Dave Bocker shared a spiritual message.

"God said you are his child, and that is who you are. Be clear about that. Be compassionate. The world needs more of that."

Pastor Fernando Segura echoed that sentiment and stressed the value of hard work.

"Learn to work and be faithful at it. Nothing comes easy in life. Whenever you work hard and faithfully, it pleases the Lord."

"Seek community. You need to have people around you to walk with you. We are praying for you and cheering you on."

Parent Mariela Nunez came to support her son Michael. She said of the event, "I've never experienced anything like it. I thought it was something nice to acknowledge the seniors that are graduating."

The most enjoyable part for her was being led out in prayer by the pastors.

"There is a community that really cares about them and that are there to help any student that needs advice and someone to talk to."

She said she would like to see more of these events in the future for students.

"They need to know that God's doors are open to them. It's setting them off on the right path. It is the best path to be on to walk with Jesus."

Michael said, "I thought the ceremony was very special. It's always good to glorify God in celebration of the next chapter. It made me feel respected and cared for."

The ceremony was put together by students Ensley Mehlberg and Cole Luna.

Luna thanked all of the people that took their time to attend.

"I helped run it and also sang," she explained. "It was an amazing ceremony. It was short and sweet but did the job. My favorite part was singing with Sarah."

A WHS teacher and senior class advisor, Amanda Rodriguez, said, "The students did an amazing job planning it. The singing by the students was so beautiful, and I think the local pastors gave inspiring messages to our seniors."

Sarah Cobb played guitar and sang.

"It was awesome to get to play with my fellow classmates. It's cool that they organized something centered around God in such a broken world. It was inspirational."

Elizabeth Abshire came to show her support for several students, including Sarah.

"It was sweet and a precious time to share their faith. I hope it's a tradition that will continue."

WHS Activities Coordinator Hailey Coyle said the highlight was the kids hearing from the pastors.

"It was important for them to kick off their graduation week on a positive note and send the 2023 class off with blessings," she said.