 - Eight local students graduated from Frontier Academy this week during a regular meeting of the Riverton School Board.){kind=link}
(Riverton, WY) – Eight local students graduated from Frontier Academy this week during a regular meeting of the Riverton School Board.
“I am elated,” Frontier Academy Social Worker Nicole Schoening said before introducing the graduates. “Some of these kiddos, I did not expect to see here tonight. They were up to the wire … putting in the work this morning to be here. So I am really proud of each of them and I really, sincerely, I’m just thrilled to see them all here.”
Schoening invited the graduates to the podium in alphabetical order, beginning with Alex Bisbee, who enrolled at Frontier Academy because “the environment of the high school was just too much for him,” but he still wanted to continue participating in district sports programs.
“(Frontier) gave me a better opportunity to learn and graduate from high school in a setting more suited to me,” Bisbee said. “It was a self-paced school that (allowed) me to still participate in high school activities.”
He thanked the Frontier staff for “pushing me to do better” and also acknowledged his family “for helping me and making sure that I got my work done on time to graduate.”
“Thank you to the board members for giving me this opportunity at Frontier,” Bisbee concluded. “I am very grateful and extremely thankful. I can’t wait to move on to the next chapter of my life.”
Graduate Aspyn Brown also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to attend Frontier Academy, specifically mentioning the teachers who helped her complete her requirements this week.
“I would like to thank all of the Frontier staff and especially all the teachers, because they are just all so amazing and caring,” she said. “They really care about the students.”
Graduate Mia Ecker kept her remarks brief, offering a simple “thank you” to the board.
“The theme for this evening is perseverance and overcoming adversity,” Schoening said when she introduced Ecker. “I think that Mia would say that the spring has been tremendously difficult and challenging, but she is here, and she’s standing in front of us this evening, and we’re all just very proud of her.”
Like Bisbee, Graduate Brandon Monroe said he appreciated the opportunity to attend Frontier so he could continue playing district sports.
“Frontier helped me be eligible to play my senior year of basketball and graduate on time,” he said, thanking his teachers for their encouragement and his parents for “always believing in me.”
Monroe also thanked the school board “for giving me this opportunity to graduate from Frontier and get my diploma.”
“I don’t think I could have graduated from high school if I hadn’t come to Frontier,” he said.
Graduate Jamie Moss shared a similar sentiment, introducing herself as “an on-time graduate” – an achievement that “would not have been possible without Frontier Academy.”
She thanked her teachers for their sense of humor, flexibility, and encouragement, and for making her feel “safe.”
“I’d also like to thank everyone that helped me with my educational journey,” she said. “I am so proud of my success, (and) I’m looking forward to the next chapter.”
Graduate Crimson Rose said Frontier made her feel “welcome and truly a part of the community,” too, “genuinely living up to their name of being called a family.”
“These past few years have made me enjoy going to school with encouraging people (who help) me show up and push through the day, which I’ve always appreciated,” she said. “(They) made me realize that it is up to me to make my future – to get what I want. And I think that piece of wisdom will take me far after graduation.”
Rose also mentioned some of the “big events” she participated in as a Frontier student, like going ice fishing or swimming in Thermopolis, but she also recalled “the small things, like making hot chocolate when it was really snowy or cold.”
“These memories have all meant so much to me, and I’m so glad I was a part of it,” she said. “Thank you to all of Frontier for what you have done for me, (and) to my close friends and family for cheering me on and giving me advice when I definitely needed it. I don’t think I could have done it without any of you.”
Graduate Kaidence Straub said she attended five different schools over the past four years – an experience that made her wonder if she would “ever find a place where I could truly belong.”
“Then I found Frontier Academy,” she said. “This school gave me something I didn’t think was possible: a fresh start, a real chance of succeeding, and people who believed in me. …
“The past year has tested me in more ways than I could count. But standing here today, I’m proud of how far I’ve come. (For) the first time in a long time, I’m not scared of what comes next. I’m hopeful. I’m excited.”
Graduate Adinideen Willow said Frontier gave her “the courage to speak more” and the motivation to “come to school” so she could be with the “great friends” she met there.
“These friends helped me,” she said. “Watching them get their work done inspired me to do the same. It made me happier and gave me a reason to come more often than I did before. … A huge thank you to the board members for allowing me to attend Frontier.”
For more information, call Frontier Academy at (307) 856-9192.