INSIDE

Presenting the 2007 crop
of high school graduates

Tyler Alphenaar

Tyler is one of a knot of local kids who started together as kindergarten students at Point Roberts primary and will get their diplomas together this June.

“I had a great experience,” he said of his school days. “My friends have always been there to help me.”

Tyler said his favorite class was English, “because I love to read and to write.”

After graduation Tyler said he would like to take a year or two off and travel around Europe. Then he is looking at developing his computer skills as he identifies a good career match for his interests and abilities.

Will Clift

“Great students, great friends and great teachers as well.” That’s how Will Clift will remember his years at Blaine schools, where he has been a student since since his family moved to Point Roberts when he was in 6th grade.

In high school Clift has been very active in student organizations such as the Associated Student Body and Students With a Purpose (SWAP). “It gets the whole community involved, not just students,” he said.

Clift has also been very involved with sports, including soccer, football, track and basketball.

After graduation Clift will attend Bellingham Technical College. “I’m going to be an electrician,” he said, “and I believe I’ll be working here.”

Adam Dykstra

Adam came to Blaine high school from Colorado halfway through his sophomore year. “It’s a lot quieter here but I got used to it,” he said.

Sports has been his passion in high school, where he was active in both the football and track programs.

He said he plans to follow that track when he attends the University of British Columbia and joins the Thunder-birds football team. Dykstra said he also hopes to earn a business degree at UBC.


Andrew Grubb

Andrew has spent his school career in Point Roberts and Blaine schools, and enjoyed being part of half a dozen local kids in his grade. “We’ve held together pretty well,” he said.

After he spends this summer leading the parks program’s summer kids camp, Andrew will be attending Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where he will study humanities. “They have a huge emphasis on social responsibility and sustainability,” he said.

“Environmental issues are a big focus for me.” As a high school senior Andrew re-started the organization Students with a Purpose, SWAP, which promotes social and environmental awareness among students.

More than his school days Andrew said he will miss home. “I’m going to miss Point Roberts, being close to nature and all the good people who live here.”

Casey Hubbard

Casey started his school days at Point Roberts primary and graduates from Blaine high school as an honor society member after 13 years in Blaine schools. After graduation he plans to attend Bellingham technical college where he will study to be an electrician.

Casey’s sport is snowboarding and he and several classmates spent a lot of high school winters at Mount Baker. This summer he will again be working at Lighthouse Marine Park and as a counselor for the parks department summer program.


Dallas Martineau

Dallas and his family moved to the Point when he was in middle school, and he has attended Blaine schools since then.

He’s been a busy high school student, a member of the soccer team, the honor society and the Future Business Leaders of America. Now he’s going to take some time off to travel and work before deciding what path he wants to take. “I know I want to be happy,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if I make lots of money, I want to enjoy my life.”


Holly Parsons

Holly moved to Point Roberts from Canada and started at Blaine schools in fifth grade. In high school she was active in the Future Farmers of America and was active in the horticulture program and in organizing plant and hanging basket sales. “Mixing flowers together until it looks good, your imagination was open,” she said.

After graduation Holly will turn her imagination from plants to food, attending a culinary program at Bellingham Technical College with hopes of becoming a chef. “I like blending flavors, I like experimenting with food,” she said.

Alisa Passberg

Alisa is the youngest Point Roberts graduate this year, earning her high school diploma at 15.

Alisa and her family moved to the Point from Georgia two years ago. “I really like it here, just the natural beauty of the area,” she said.

With her two younger sisters Alisa has been homeschooled by her mother, taking standardized tests every two years to meet the standards of the Georgia system in which they continue to be enrolled. “I’ve loved it,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed being at home and growing up with my sisters, being taught by my mom.” The Passberg school day has included Irish dancing and piano lessons as well as more traditional academic subjects. “I’ve had an interest in English and have done a lot of fiction writing,” Alisa said, specializing in Christian romance.

After graduation Alisa will be dual-enrolled in Bryan College in Tennessee for correspondence learning, and at the University of British Columbia, specializing in Christian studies, English and music. “I would like to be a wife and mother most of all and homeschool my own children,” she said.


Naomi Shucard

Naomi ended high school already in college. She has spent her senior year in the Running Start program at Whatcom Community College. “I was already taking the hard classes and this seemed like the next step, more challenging,” she said. Her favorite class has been advance placement English literature. “We read a bunch of classics like Shakespeare, the Brönte sisters, I loved them all,” she said.

An honor society member and a soccer team member for three years, Shucard will miss her friends when she leaves high school. “We’ll be friends for life,” she said. Like many of her Point Roberts classmates she started in kindergarten at Point Roberts primary school and said she “loved growing up in Point Roberts.”

Shucard will continue to work towards an associate degree at Whatcom Community College next year, but with the goal of transferring to a four-year program at a university. “I want to be an architect but I’m doing the basics now,” she said. “I’m really interested in sustainable living, renewable resources, and I want to incorporate that into architecture.”

Rosie Snel

Rosie has lived her whole life in Point Roberts, attending first Point Roberts primary and then Blaine schools.

Her favorite area of study in high school has been art, especially painting, she said. After graduation she plans to attend Langara College in British Columbia to study fine art.


Ryley White

Ryley also spent all his school years in the Blaine school district, from kindergarten at the local school to his upcoming graduation from Blaine high school.

Following graduation he hopes to take some time to travel before looking into attending a technical school to be trained as a mechanic.