Into the unknown: Graduates walk out of gym, into their new lives

AMBOY – The 18-year-old junior firefighters stood out in the crowd of 86 Amboy High School graduates – their four jet-black fire hats were set apart from 82 red mortarboards.

For Jeffrey Bryant Jr., water runs as thick as blood. The third-generation Amboy firefighter’s father, Jeff Bryant Sr., is a captain on the Amboy Fire Department. His grandfather, Rocky Sensenig, retired as chief.

He and fellow graduates Warren Bontz, Kayli Borell, and Cody Shaw all spent 2 years working toward their junior firefighter certification. All have responded to fires and accidents already, and all plan to study fire science at Sauk Valley Community College next year.

“It’s a heck of an achievement. These kids put in a lot of time outside school,” said Amboy School Board President Mark Becker.

The graduating class received this message from valedictorian Jeremy Wolf: “As of today, you have a choice of what you want to do. ... You have been given an entire country.”

The ceremony, which took place Saturday afternoon, hit a dramatic high point, capped by thunderous applause, when two students performed a martial arts demonstration on center court of Amboy High School’s gymnasium.

As the band played the theme song to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean “Into the Unknown,” the two performers sparred and clashed swords.

They jumped and bowed, twisted and swung. When the final note echoed off the gym walls, the swords came down and the crowd erupted.

The students then received their diplomas.

And they stepped out into the unknown.