Class of 2023 graduates, then celebrates.

Crystal Thornell, Chair of the Board of Trustees, next came to the podium to introduce the commencement speaker, Liam Near, WSA 2015 – a University of Washington graduate and music teacher with the Bremerton School District. In his speech, Liam referred to the speech he gave exactly seven years earlier when he had been on the WSA commencement stage himself. He then conveyed to this year’s class the lessons he had received from his parents and had mentioned in his 2015 speech. As important as it is to be “the protagonist of your life …it is even more important to be the director. You must pay attention to how you frame the sequences of events that make up your stories.”

Near went on to acknowledge the important role that WSA teachers have played in the lives of these newest graduates. “They have prepared you not only for what you are going to do next in the story of your life, but given you great skills, and perspectives for how you are going to tell that story. They have given you a capacity to do the ‘behind the camera work’ that will heighten the value of your life’s many ups and downs.” He added, “Remember that you get to be the ones to frame your life the way you want to, and while you may not always know exactly how to be the director and do that behind the camera work, that you can always seek out the perspectives of those in your life who have been doing this behind the camera work all along.”

Next came the graduates' chance to each give a speech: "The Last Word" - a West Sound tradition. Freeman had asked teachers to provide adjectives that aptly described the personality and disposition of each graduate. She made each introduction by reading the list of descriptive words, then the student’s name. The graduates all expressed pride and relief at having made it to this point and thanked their family and friends for their continuing love and support.

Each speaker also expressed gratitude and admiration for their fellow graduates – and their West Sound Academy teachers. “But now we all go our separate ways,” said Ava Erickson, speaking to the Class of 2023. “What comforts me is that these people who I love and who teach me, can never really leave me because I get to hold on to everything they taught me. I get to use every skill and idea and lesson at every obstacle from this point on. So thank you, and some part of you will be forever with me.”