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Joy, pride, memories mark Craig graduation ceremony

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JANESVILLE — The twisting blue and white river of Janesville Craig High School’s 2008 graduating class trickled down the halls of Wilson Elementary School on Thursday.

Many of the more than 400 graduates stood with their ceremonial regalia unzipped, fanning themselves with their caps and programs.

“It’s hot down here,” lamented graduate Cody Kubiak, wearing shorts, flip-flops and aviator sunglasses. “But I’m pretty stoked. It’s been a long time coming.”

Farther down the hallway, a group of women piled together as cameras took aim at the pack. With the blink of the flash, a frozen image remained of four years gone by.

At the direction of ushers, the mass of graduates gathered composure and filed into Monterey Stadium, where a grandstand filled with parents and loved ones awaited.

Senior class president Sofia Sanchez welcomed her fellow classmates with a reminder of their class motto.

“Our lives are before us, our past is behind us, but our memories are forever with us,” she said eloquently.

Amidst the festivities:

-- The rivalry between the two Janesville high schools was rehashed by a former Parker High School student rattling off highlights of her years at Craig.

“The people, the dances, the classes were better here,” Kara Friis said laughing. “Everything’s better at Craig.”

-- The anxious graduates whooped and cheered as officials urged them to form a single line.

“Halleluiah!” shouted one grad.

“Finally!” bellowed another.

Nearby, another graduate started a rhythmic clap. Within seconds, the entire class joined, following the rhythm and cheering, echoing down the halls.

-- The sun broke from behind clouds still lingering from the morning’s storms as Principal Michael Kuehne explained the effort administrators took to hold graduation ceremonies at Monterey Stadium. He told the audience his office had meteorologists from Madison TV news stations on speed dial, consulting them throughout the day.

-- School Board President DuWayne Severson reminisced with graduates and guests about popular culture events of 1995, when the class of 2008 began kindergarten.

Despite the references to broken baseball records and box office hits, the crowd cheered as Severson reminded them that 1995 was the year “Number 4 himself,” Brett Favre received his first Most Valuable Player award.

-- Floyd Poe danced his way across the stage, arms waving and hips twirling. The crowd erupted as the fist-pumping graduate hoisted his diploma into the air.

-- Cell phones came in handy to connect graduates to family in the sea of balloons and flowers behind the grandstand following the ceremonies.

“We’re very proud of her,” Jeff Greenwood said looking at his daughter, Jessica Eastman.

“I’m so glad it’s over,” Eastman said pausing to smile for a photograph with her parents. “I’m just glad I did it.”

Just as thunder started the Craig seniors’ last day of high school, the thunder of fireworks overhead brought their four years to a close and celebrated their future to come.

Click here to view an audio slideshow of the ceremony