Even within the last century, there have been some chaotic times in this part of the world and others that have affected the hopes and dreams of young people.

Wars, drafts and multiple pandemics have happened in the past and have effectively changed the lives and paths of those who lived during those times.

The odd thing about history, even modern history, is that it is just that. History. While history always has a hand in shaping the world that we live in today, it does not always have a conscience part in our day to day lives.

So, now, many of us are living through what our grandparents lived through, and their ancestors before them. Our lives have been paused. Disrupted. Halted. And, for many graduating seniors this year, things may have been canceled altogether.

While this is certainly a disappointment and absolutely not what our young ones were expecting, I want to emphasize the point that this in no way reflects on you or takes away the weight and significance of your achievements!

You have worked hard. You have persevered. You have succeeded.

Don’t let this take away your sense of accomplishment and your drive to keep pushing forward. Now more than ever, we need that drive and that motivation and dedication that has gotten you to where you are.

Because of that, I wanted to put a spotlight on my last senior that I had the privilege of shooting for before this all affected us locally. His name is Kyle Pederson and he has worked hard this year, only to have the acknowledgment of his successes limited a bit by cancellations. With some help on some of this information, I wanted to share a little bit about this young man and the hard work that he has done and will continue to do as the world changes and marches on.

Kyle started playing basketball in 8^th grade.  He lettered his first year playing and received his ‘L’ at the end of the year. Through all of this, he has maintained a 3.9 GPA through all 4 years at Lustre Christian High School and had been recognized for Academic All-State.

Freshman year, he was Class President and this year he is Senior Vice President. He is also Senior Class Student Council Vice President

Kyle plays the saxophone and was a member of the choir at Lustre his Freshman and Sophomore year and was a member of the LCHS quartet in his Freshman year. His Junior Year he dropped several electives so he could double up on his math classes, but he went to State Music Festival in his Freshman and Sophomore year and was planning on attending as a Senior this year.

Despite being overlooked at times and judged as too lighthearted to qualify, Kyle attended Academic Olympics his Junior year. He was chosen to represent LCHS then and won Top Junior. This means that among all the other Juniors that attended, he tested the best.

His mother shared that she remembers him telling her that he looked at his teacher and said: “I bet you’re wishing you brought me the last two years, too.”

He was planning on attended Academic Olympics this year, too, if it hadn’t been canceled.

Kyle has been awarded the Presidential Scholarship at Rocky Mountain College.  He will receive $17,000/year, for all 4 years, for a total of $68,000 for his tuition. While there was a scholarship banquet to celebrate this, it too had to be canceled.

After our session, Kyle also received communication from the Director of the Aviation Program informing him that he has been chosen to fly his first semester.

The Aviation program has become a very competitive degree program.  This is a huge honor for Kyle and we are very proud of him.

Kyle was also accepted to Embry Riddle in Daytona Beach Florida and UND-Grand Forks in their aviation program, however, he feels that Rocky Mountain College will be a better fit.

Kyle has worked the past 3 years at Jitter’z Espresso and has also spent his extracurricular time volunteering to help others who need a helping hand and to share the support that he has received.

Kyle,
We were so happy to have gotten to be a small part of your graduation, and, while we are aware of the disappointment that comes with not seeing the fulfillment of what you imagined your Senior year would look like, please remember that it doesn’t change who you are or all of the things that you have accomplished. You will go on and continue achieving great things, and you will get the results of them. You will be able to look back on this time and say that you lived through the Coronavirus Pandemic- that was your Senior year. While you’re just seeing how it affects your daily life right now, you will look back and realize that you were living at a significant time; an event that will be part of history. The lessons that you learn from this now as you continue to flourish despite these issues will be lessons that you pass down to your children and their families.

Keep up the hard work, keep your head up, and know that your family is proud of you- and we are too!

We hope your gallery provides you with some good memories and useful images for the parties we know you are going to be having soon! Here are a few of our favorites…

 

 

High School | Lustre Christian High School

Aircraft & Tarmac | Russel Leader- Leader Aviation; Glasgow, MT

Rooftop Access | Wolf Point Liquor