Pakornkeat “James”
Insawang
Brandon Johnson
Corbin Nelson
Will Scheuerman
Mekhi Williams
Haley Lindsay
Aja Ota
Misty Pasko
Ben Schulte, Kailia Jackson
Murad Yazmedov
Gonzalo Lozano-Amaya,
Carmen Paez-Toledo
Jake Patton
Olivia Shulnut
Sona Zakaryan
Cassie McFalls
Maddy Zavales
Kiley Merx
Kameron Powell
Bethany Stockwell
Brendyn Mullikin
Odessa Roberts
Clay Sullivan, Lily Buchanan
Class President
Rebekah Barnes
Guest Speaker
Juliet Safier
Brook Naron
Noah Rylans
Andrew Vasquez
Principal
Nate Underwood
Kob Kun Lae Sawasdee Krab and Auf Weidersehen
Vanessa W: Today we have the great honor
to speak for twelve individuals who were once
strangers to each other and to all of you. We’re
proud to stand in front of you after spending
10 months living here and being a part of this
community. I’m sure I speak for all of us when
I say that we all changed during our stay. You
grow as a person, become more independent,
learn how to handle difficult situations on
your own, and learn that you can’t survive
without fast food in America. We are extremely
thankful to all the people who have ever helped
us during this past year and who had to keep
up with our accents and bad pronunciations.
For all of us, this year has been a great time.
We visited so many new places, met so many
new people, and this became a second home
for us. It feels like yesterday when we went to
outdoor school and taught the kids campfire
songs, where all the exchange students stood in
the last row, trying to figure out what to sing.
Pakornkeat I: American high school changed
me in many ways both mentally and physically.
And I’m sure it’s for the better. The way of
American high school is unique and cannot be
found anywhere else. It introduced a lifestyle
that I will miss very much. It makes school a
lively part of life. Somethings are different,
like the way that we walk around the school
to switch class. There’s no homeroom that you
stay in and stick with a group of people like
in some countries like mine. I love the way
that sports is a big part of school, and that a
lot of people are involved. Sports unite people
beyond the barrier of language and culture.
You didn’t need to know each other to do
sports together and then you become friends
later.
VW: I can’t believe this year is over.
Everyone told me at the beginning that the
time is going to fly by and I didn’t believed
them. I had 10 months in front of me back then
and now I’m just really shocked to see how
fast it actually went. All the days of school, the
days of hanging out or going out of town to go
shopping. The Homecoming, Winter Formal,
and Prom days where we went shopping to
try to find the perfect thing to wear. All the
trips we went on together, where we had so
much fun. Many people say that the Exchange
Students are always really close. I, for myself,
found best friends in these Exchange Students.
I knew I could trust them, and that I was not
alone. I knew there’s always someone who
would understand me when no one else would.
I feel sorry for all the teachers that would ask
us how to pronounce our name and no matter
how hard they would try... it was still wrong.
But I mean they tried their best, right?
PI:
On my personal note I’d like to thank
my host mother, Shelly Hennessy, for making
this year possible for me. And thanks to her
son Brandon and his wife Tia for taking good
care of me and teaching me. And thanks to my
niece Mia and my nephew Jagger for being
very cute.
Another thank you is for Justin and
Ashley Ward for helping me with a lot of
things, they helped in making my year. Many
thanks from all of us to Cathy Ward for being a
great area representative, for going above and
beyond for all of us foreign Exchange Students.
And lastly thank you Vernonia for welcoming
us into this American high school and this
community.
VW: Someone that helped me and supported
me from the beginning on, were my host
parents Erin and Tyler Swepston and my little
host sister Aloma. We got along perfectly since
the beginning and I couldn’t have wished for
a better host family. They came to as many
games as possible, included me in everything,
and most important, they gave me a second
home.
There’s this quote that says ‘Every end
is a new beginning’ and I don’t want to sound
cheesy but I think that every end does have
a new beginning. So, when we go back to our
country we’re going to be a different person.
It’s human nature that when something ends,
it brings new beginnings. We all left a piece of
our heart here in Vernonia, and we’re going to
come back.
Thank you and goodbye.
Vanessa Wollny ~ Germany
Pakornkeat Insawang ~ Thailand