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Jim Krumel: A bit of advice for graduates from 99-year-old woman
Jim Krumel
Today’s high school graduates have a good reason to be especially proud, 99-year-old Viola Wenzinger says.
Faced with a pandemic, they were resilient as they moved forward in getting their degrees.
Wenzinger, who graduated 80 years ago from a class of 13 at Miller City 11 girls and 2 boys knows all about resiliency.
At the age of 4, she lost her mother and was sent to live with her grandmother. Five years later, her grandmother passed away and she moved back in with her father.
“Wherever my dad went, I went too. I learned a lot from him. One thing he made sure of is that I went to school,” she said.
High school students aiding homeless
ASHLEY SLOBODA | The Journal Gazette
North Side High School junior Sofi Vasquez participates in a group with a simple goal – give hope to the community.
“We want to inspire anyone who can give back, to do it,” Vasquez said in an email last month. “It is really an eye opener and is a humbling experience.”
Project Empower formed last August when a few friends talked about wanting to help the community, and interest grew among students around the city, Vasquez said.
“When I first joined the group, I was truly astonished by the amount of love that I had received,” she said. “I was welcomed with open arms, and we automatically felt like a family.”