Columbia-Burbank grads talk about past, present, future

The Columbia High class of 2013 walked into the Coyote gymnasium Friday for a ceremony a little different from past graduations.

Instead of a guest speaker, the class opted to have seven of its own talk about the funny stories of the past, the excitement of the present and the mystery of the future.

Alicia Lookabill’s speech took a hard look at the “its all about me” generation. She urged her fellow grads to stop wallowing in self-pity and start thinking in a more positive light.

“They say our generation is more narcissistic and self-absorbed than ever,” Lookabill said. “I don’t want to be remembered that way.”

Sasha Tiffany talked about the 720 days of high school they all shared — the good, the bad and the sad.

“We worked our butts off and earned the right to sit in these chairs,” she said. “We’ve lost some friends along the way, but we also gained some new ones.”

Katarina Hiebert-Rothrock and Haley Martineau combined their speeches and took turns sharing funny tales of years past.

Valedictorian Brittany Cotsford told the audience the graduates have a lot to be grateful for, because they might never have made it through high school without their loving families, fabulous teachers, coaches and advisors — as well as the wonderful custodial and lunch staff who kept them fed and clean, she joked.

Then there was Joel Blanco, who took his speech to a new level. He rapped the song Victory with as much style and pizzazz as rapper Lil Wayne.

This story was originally published May 31, 2013 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Columbia-Burbank grads talk about past, present, future."