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Photo by Johnny Wagner

Photo by Johnny Wagner

NENANA -- And the winner of the prestigious Brad Kauffman Bobblehead trophy for 2008 is ... well, Brad Kauffman.

Principal Joe Krauss slipped the gag award into graduation ceremonies Sunday for a Nenana High School class that had already collected a broad range of scholarships and individual recognition.

Krauss had come across the Kauffman-look-alike doll a few years ago. He promised to give it to Kauffman — if he graduated.

“I never expected him to do it while I actually graduated,” Kauffman, who plans to study music at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said after Sunday’s graduation.

The fun exchange exemplified a lighthearted stripe that ran through Sunday’s 100-minute ceremony, one where each student took time to thank people who made an impact.

Rowland Powers, a class co-salutatorian, thanked his mom “for making me scrumptious grub” and his dad “for teaching me out(side) of school.” Benjamin Semaken thanked the Bean family for “taking him in” in January, a move he said helped him graduate. Alyssa Sommer thanked Christine Krause for being “the wackiest librarian I know.”

The thanks stretched to cover even more time than the lengthy announcement of scholarships and awards — the class’s 23 students, all but one of whom attended Sunday’s ceremony, collected a number of scholarships, and two, Jay Bean and Heidi Kiunya, were among 1,000 Gates Millenium Scholarship winners chosen from across the country.

The school sits in a town of around 550 but indirectly serves a much broader community of students, both through its Internet-based correspondence program and its student living center.

Keynote speaker Leif Jacobsen noted the school extends the chance of a traditional high school experience over a broad geographic stretch of Alaska. Jacobsen, a former Nenana teacher now working as a principal in Cordova, shared memories from his time as a student and said graduates will find it exciting to watch their dreams turn into goals and, later, valuable experiences.

“Please, don’t ever stop dreaming about what you want to do with your life,” he said.

For many of Sunday’s graduates, high school in Nenana represented a chance to participate in things that hometowns and villages couldn’t offer, such as after-school activities. Breanna Semaken, for example, got to play on the volleyball team her senior year.

“They don’t have a volleyball team in Kaltag,” said of her home village. “They don’t even have a basketball team.”

Valedictorian Katelyn McDonald said she and her classmates often felt more like siblings. She acknowledged some might feel Nenana offers less opportunity than larger cities for students.

“What we do have is a chance to participate and play in the activities we do have,” she said.

Allan Mortenson, the other salutatorian, challenged his classmates to get the most out of their lives.

“We really only have one shot at life,” he said. “So why not make the best of it.”