PRLHS pair get valedictorian, salutatorian honors

PRIEST RIVER — Although Spencer Sedgwick took on the roll of Gaston in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" recently, he isn't so sure the stage performance will be comparable to speaking in front of his senior class in June.

"If I'm reading from a script and I know exactly what I am going to say, I don't have a problem," said Sedgwick, Priest River Lamanna High School's class of 2018 valedictorian.

"But, I have no idea what the criteria are for the speech. I have no idea if it's supposed to be long or short, funny or completely serious or what."

Sedgwick will be joined in the spotlight by this year's salutatorian, PRLHS senior Randy Stuart.

Both young men are humble in their roles, however, as each expressed their dismay at being chosen over a classmate who they feel is deserving of the honor.

Sedgwick said Dylan Glazier has been full time at North Idaho College and is back taking taking classes at PRLHS, but will graduate from high school in June with an associates degree from NIC.

"Dylan put in a lot of work at NIC and I would have loved to see him get one of the two recognitions," Stuart said. "I would have gladly taken third."

PRLHS Principal Joe Kren said while the duo is modest, they are more than deserving of the honors.

"They are outstanding young men," Kren said. "They are very humble about who they are and they are just great representatives, examples, of how hard our students work around here."

Sedgwick said he plans to attend NIC and get his associate degree before heading to the University of Idaho. He has family there, he said, and UI offers all of the degrees he is considering. A couple of options he has considered as a major are computer science or broadcast journalism. Sedgwick said he is inspired by public radio, such as NPR.

"Whether it is computer science or broadcast journalism, they have it there," Sedgwick said.

Stuart is also headed to UI, although he is heading straight to the university after high school.

"Right now I am undecided within the natural resources field," Stuart said. "Statistically, when you see so many people changing their major anyway, I am perfectly willing to sit back and see how things turn out, explore different areas."

He has also looked into history, sociology and secondary education.

In addition to being active in the Off the Wall Drama productions, Sedgwick stays busy with cross country and track. In past years, he said, he was involved in cheerleading as well.  

Stuart is active in martial arts, studying Aikido and combatives. He was the assistant self-defense instructor for the after-school program until recently when the previous instructor left. He has now taken up instruction full-time for the program.

As per school district policy, the valedictorian and salutatorian are chosen based on their GPA. Sedgwick, who said he feels guilty about being valedictorian over Glazier, said he would like to see the school move to a system with more factors to it.

"So that way we can't have someone who just breezes through and has no problem with the academics get it by default, just because they have a higher GPA," Sedgwick said.

"I think volunteer service should be something thrown in, too, so that you see not just the educational quality of a student, but the quality of their humanity," Stuart added.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.