photo by: Elvyn Jones

Lawrence Virtual School valedictorian Estrella Frankenfeld addresses the school's Class of 2016 during commencement Saturday at Free State High School. Sixty-eight students graduated from the school this year.

Lawrence school district assistant superintendent Jerri Kemble told the 68 members of the Lawrence Virtual School Class of 2016 on Saturday they were following in the footsteps of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and nine other U.S. presidents, Thomas Edison and music stars Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift.

All those people were home-schooled, Kemble said at the virtual school’s high school commencement at the Free State High School auditorium.

“You have been willing to take risks and found a new way of learning,” she said.

The students were also told to embrace future trips into “dragon territory” by Lawrence Superintendent Rick Doll, referring to maps of the Middle Ages that warned “there be dragons here” in uncharted waters. Those warnings didn’t deter explorers like Christopher Columbus from overcoming fears and exploring the unknown, he said.

He wished for the graduates similar journeys into dragon waters, which would begin with anxiety and excitement, Doll said. Those were moments when danger meets opportunity, he said.

“Think of those feelings in the pit of the stomach as a green light, not a red light,” he said. “Will you pursue a career that provides you satisfaction or settle for one that is safer? Will you challenge the status quo? Will you, in fact, make new traditions instead of following those that are given to you?”

In her valedictorian address to the class, Estrella Frankenfeld noted the past year was filled with first-time and final-time events. Graduation was one of those and should be celebrated, but she told her fellow graduates that they shouldn’t focus too much on milestones marking the beginnings and endings of journeys. It was important to make the most of every moment in between, she said.

“I don’t want my life to be made up of just the first time and the last time,” she said “I want all the other times to matter just as much.”

Soon after the commencement, graduate KiArra Condit was enjoying the moment with her friend, Mariah Clark. Condit said she was thankful for the opportunity to complete her final year of high school through the virtual school.

“I had health issues,” she said. “It worked out well for me.”

Her next big adventure would be a mission trip in December to Mexico, Condit said.

For graduate Maggie Felch, the commencement marked the end of six years as a student of the virtual school. She plans to enroll in the Neosho County Community College nursing program.

“I just liked staying home and working at my own pace,” she said of the virtual school’s appeal.