Forest City H.S. graduates leave a lasting impression

BY JOE BARESS
Times-Shamrock Writer

Once a Forester, always a Forester.

The phrase hung high above the students on the stage of the auditorium and proved true to the Forest City High School class of 2015. Although they bonded together as a class, each student had a unique experience getting to his or her final year.

“We are all extremely different in our interests, ideals and beliefs,” class salutatorian Emily Statkun said. “However, I can’t tell you the number of times that I have connected with a classmate other than my closest friends.”

Her realization of this peaked during senior day, oddly, when she had a piece of cake smashed in her face.

“This person wasn’t my best friend who just wanted to mess with me, it was someone who felt comfortable enough to humiliate me, knowing I would be a good sport about it,” Emily said. “That day, I realized that we are more than a class filled with athletes, band and chorus kids, tech kids and quiet kids.”

Class valedictorian Solana Stratford moved to Forest City in seventh grade from California. When she adjusted and grew to love the city, she had to move to Atlanta, where she had a class size of 856, much bigger than Forest City’s 2015 graduating class of just over 60.

“All I could think about is how different Forest City was,” Solana said. “I remember I used to beg my parents every day to see if we could move back to Forest City.”

Solana jumped at the chance to come back when the opportunity presented itself.

“It wasn’t just because I missed my friends, it was the feeling of home that Forest City gave me,” Solana said. “Forest City allows each of us to be an individual.”

On the other hand, Katelyn Zembrzycki grew up in Forest City on a farm, and attributes everything she learned in life to a cow.

“I’m not saying my cows taught the multiplication tables or sang the alphabet to me,” Katelyn said. “The cow represents the passion to have the desire to learn and to be yourself and to find what makes you happy.”

Although she makes a farming reference, Katelyn believes the cow depicts the drive for students to become whatever they desire.

“The cow represents anything you’re passionate about, whether it’s cooking, welding, masonry, designing, helping others, teaching, maybe dancing,”
Katelyn said. “It represents anything these students want to be and anything they can be after they leave these doors today because of the passion they have within themselves.”