MARYSVILLE — Hundreds of students will be graduating from high schools in Marysville in the next week, but few will be as decorated as Sam Galbreath from little Grace Academy.
The academy is graduating just 18 seniors, compared with 311 from Marysville Getchell, but its top student has received an appointment to the Class of 2018 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He will report to West Point July 2.
Galbreath said he will pursue combat arms in the infantry or aviation and potentially work into Special Operations.
Although his dad, Bryan, was in the Air Force, the son didn’t really consider the military until his junior year.
He said he wants to be a soldier because of his patriotism and his desire to protect our freedom and people.
Galbreath said his hero is, “My dad,” of Lake Stevens. His mom, Annette, has told Sam stories about the opportunities his dad had to rescue victims under dangerous circumstances. Galbreath said he wants to emulate his dad by protecting and respecting life.
Galbreath is treasurer-secretary of the Student Leadership Council, president of the National Honor Society, and a member of the choir, soccer and golf teams.
While a number of high schools in nearby Arlington had graduation this week, only two in Marysville did.
Lakewood High School was scheduled to graduate roughly 165 seniors June 6. Valedictorian Sara Newman and co-salutatorians Laena Skiles and Kendall O’Kinsella were among the graduates.
Grace Academy was set to graduate 18 seniors June 6. Along with Galbreath, the other valedictorians are Julianna Bethune and Matthew Tuttle.
Graduations coming up include:
• Mountain View High School will graduate more than 60 students with 35 of those walking. The graduation ceremony will be held at Cedarcrest Middle School Tuesday, June 10, at 7 p.m. Graduating students Joe Hoerner and Shelbi Hatch will be speaking for their graduating class.
• Marysville Getchell High School will be graduating 311 students from all four of its schools. The graduation ceremony will be held at Comcast Arena in Everett Wednesday, June 11, at 4 p.m. It is advisable to arrive an hour prior to the ceremony to avoid parking troubles, said Jodi Runyon, a school district spokeswoman. The top students are: Academy of Construction and Engineering: Valedictorian Joelle Moussi, Salutatorian Artiel Castillo; Bio Med: Valedictorian Stanley Reyes, Salutatorian Roma Cancio; International School of Communication: Valedictorian Brandon Stickels, Salutatorian Amanda Cole; School for the Entrepreneur: Valedictorian Alex Gonzalez, Salutatorian Tanner Wilcoxson.
• Marysville-Pilchuck High School will graduate valedictorians Jake Ell, Lorenzeo Hubberd and Alexandra Leerhoff along with salutatorian Kacie Ekdahl, out of its 288 students graduating. The graduation ceremony will be held at Comcast Arena in Everett Wednesday, June 11, at 8 p.m. Parking may be an obstacle so it is advised to arrive an hour prior, Runyon said.
• Marysville Arts and Tech will be graduating 53 students at its graduation at the Francis Sheldon Secondary Campus June 14 at 2 p.m.
The school will be graduating Kimia Bergeson as valedictorian and Sarah Hoot as salutatorian.
• Tulalip Heritage will be graduating 20 students Saturday, June 14, at the Francis Sheldon Gym on the secondary campus at 6 p.m. It will be an especially meaningful day for Tulalip’s principal Shelly Lacy. “I get to see my first class graduate,” said Shelly who was principle when the graduating class were freshmen. Speaking for the graduating class are Emily Jones from the shop program and Santana Shopbell from the science club.
