Fifteen years ago, Matt Wigton donned cap and gown as a member of the St. Mary School Class of 1992.

Sunday, the Rev. Wigton, a Roman Catholic priest, will be the guest speaker at his alma mater's commencement ceremony, scheduled for 5 p.m. at the church in Lake Leelanau. Wigton attended Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio and went on to be ordained a member of the Friars Minor of Immaculate Mary, serving parishes in Vatican City.

G-L students enjoy sunshine

Thirteen graduates along with two exchange students are scheduled to receive diplomas at St. Mary, including Wigton’s younger brother Michael.

Suttons Bay, the county’s largest school, and Glen Lake will also hold commencement ceremonies Sunday.
Some 244 students are expected to graduate from county high schools within the next nine days.

Twenty-seven Leelanau School seniors participated in ceremonies at “graduation green” on Saturday. The list of county graduates is three less than last year’s total of 247.

Five seniors attending the Leelanau Peninsula High School (LPHS) in Lake Leelanau are scheduled to graduate at 7 tonight in the Suttons Bay High School auditorium. They will be the last students to earn diplomas from the alternative high school, which will close next month. Students now attending LPHS may return to their “home” district or travel to the Traverse City High School, the alternative school offered through Traverse City Area Public Schools at the former East Bay Elementary School on Three Mile Road in Traverse City.

The bulk of the Class of 2007 will participate in three separate ceremonies Sunday.

Suttons Bay will kick off at 3 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. Superintendent Michael Murray, who joined the district in January, will take the podium to address the 90 Norsemen graduates and their family and friends. His topic: “The difference between knowledge and wisdom.”

“In school they have their teachers and test results to measure their knowledge,” Murray said. “I’m still looking for the ‘answer key’ to life.”

Thirty minutes later on the opposite side of the peninsula, Glen Lake’s 60-member senior class will participate in commencement ceremonies, also in the high school gym. Valedictorian and salutatorian speeches are scheduled along with a musical performance by North by Northwest.

Fifth-grade teacher and basketball coach Jason Stowe will be the guest speaker at the Leland High School graduation, Friday, June 8 at 7 p.m., and 30 seniors are scheduled to receive diplomas.

Simultaneously, the community of Northport will send forth its 19 members from the Class of 2007. Community member, middle school coach and substitute teacher Steve Gilbreath is the guest speaker for the 7 p.m. ceremony, to be held in the small gym.