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Iowa Valley grads ready for the world
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MARENGO -- As students graduated from Iowa Valley High School Sunday, their principal, Janet Behrens, encouraged them to remember the moments that made them stronger.
“The world is ready for you, and, more importantly, you are ready for it,” Behrens said. “We can’t wait to see where your hearts will lead you.”
“I have enjoyed being your principal the last seven years,” said Behrens. “You will always be Iowa Valley Tigers. This will always be home.”
Valedictorian Asher Stubblefield told his classmates that the future is an unfinished road.
“In your life, you will have unexpected ups and downs, twists and turns. But the best way to keep building your road is to overcome whatever roadblocks are in your way,” said Stubblefield.
“No matter what you have decided to do. Do it with your best effort,” Stubblefield said. “Never forget to get out of your comfort zone and build the life that you want to live.”
Salutatorian Alannah McKibben encouraged the graduates live their lives to the fullest while being humble and kind, as expressed in the class song, “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw.
“Those words are simple but powerful,” said McKibben.
Iowa Valley has taught the students about community and about character, said McKibben. “Look for ways to make a difference. Be the one who listens. Be the one who shows up. Be the one who chooses kindness even when it’s not easy.
“As you step into the next chapter of life... always stay humble and kind.”
Iowa Valley alumna Julie Smith Bechtel told graduates of her childhood in Marengo and her life after graduation in 1980. Having lost her mother when she was 11, cared for her siblings while her dad was at the bar and given birth at 16 to a son she gave up for adoption, Bechtel graduated high school and worked through two industries, eventually earning Editor & Publisher magazine’s 2016 Publisher of the Year award.
Bechtel is back in Marengo, helping her son, Nate, run S & J Sanitation started by her father, Jerry, and Skip.
Marengo was a good place to grow up, said Bechtel, despite her difficult family situation.
How did she succeed? “No one does it alone,” said Bechtel. She encouraged graduates to surround themselves with loving people and to find the right partner. “I’ve been married almost 39 years,” Bechtel said.
Bechtel didn’t plan to work at a newspaper or to be a publisher, she said. She was pre-law at the University of Iowa and studied political science before taking a job with AT&T.
“I have a lot of common sense and a strong work ethic,” Bechtel said.
A circulation position with the Des Moines Register led to several publishing opportunities.
And now Bechtel has come full circle. She’s keeping the books for S & J Sanitation as she did in high school.
Iowa Valley’s new graduates can do anything, said Bechtel, and they will probably change their minds and careers during their lives.
“Pack up the bad stuff and leave it at home,” said Bechtel.
“This is the day you’ve been waiting for. You are in charge.”
Before receiving their diplomas, Iowa Valley seniors remembered Dylan Penning who died in 2023 at the age of 16. His friend Owen Bral, Caleb Haack and Ian Smith accepted a diploma for Penning and placed it on a vacant chair set aside for the missing classmate.
