Former teacher speaks at Rangely High School graduation

RANGELY | On Sunday the Rangely High School gym filled with square caps, green and white gowns, the smiling faces of graduates and the joyful tears of parents. Each year the senior class is allowed to pick the speaker they hope to be inspired by. This year the twenty five graduates of the Class of 2017 chose Cody Brunton, former RHS English teacher.
In true English teacher style Brunton’s speech centered around a theme of the power of words, defining both graduation and intention. “What we say is a reflection of who we are,” Brunton told the graduates.
To illustrate his point Brunton described a semi-scientific study which compared water droplets exposed to low temperatures. Some were placed on positive words such as love, while others were put on negative words, such as hate. According to Brunton the words near the happy thoughts developed into aesthetically pleasing ice crystals, while the negative ones formed lopsided and less appealing ones. Brunton told the graduates that good energy vibrations really can make a difference.
Brunton had saved an assignment that the graduates had completed in his class at the end of their freshman year. Four years ago those students had responded to the prompt “I hope you will remember…”. The gymnasium was full of the laughter of the graduates as they reminisced about what they’d hoped to remember four years prior.
As the 2017 Rangely graduates prepare to enter the workforce, military, trade schools and colleges they were reminded that kindness and love matter.