OBERLIN — As 84 eager teens waited to graduate at Finney Chapel, Superintendent Geoffrey Andrews urged them to hold onto the heritage of being from Oberlin.

He referred to the Memorial Arch in Tappan Square, which bears the names of the 13 missionaries from Oberlin and their five children who died in the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900.

Some 200 missionaries and about 32,000 of the faithful were slaughtered to banish perceived Western imperialism.

Young people can learn something from the example of those missionaries who dedicated their lives to help others, Andrews said.

“They weren’t about being the best in the world — they were for being the best for the world,” Andrews said.

Before Andrews spoke, the Oberlin High School class of 2009’s four valedictorians — Mary Enos, Marie Grube, David Lumpkin and Nora Stewart — gave their takes on graduation — and life.

There were four valedictorians because they all had perfect 4.0 grade point averages.

Enos and Stewart worked together in a humorous slapstick where Stewart ripped up Enos’s speech.

The two teens joked that they would have to rewrite their remarks on stage.

Stewart, who plans to major in film and theater studies at Yale University, advised the crowd that “People in glass houses should not throw chihuahuas.”

Enos, who will study education at Baldwin-Wallace College, said “In life, you have to climb a mountain every day.”

Grube, an avid soccer player, told the story of how she learned how to appreciate the simple things in life after having surgery to repair a ligament in her knee.

She couldn’t be discharged until she could take care of herself, including making it to the bathroom, a valuable lesson for Grube, who plans to study nursing at The Ohio State University.

Lumpkin, who plans a double major in biology and saxophone at Oberlin College, told fellow graduates it’s important to notice — and respect — your surroundings.

He told the story of a man who collected coins that had been thrown for good luck into the Grand Canyon. The coin collector had to be rescued himself by mountain climbers, Lumpkin said.

After the speakers completed their talks, a packed crowd in Finney Chapel whooped and hollered as each student received a diploma.

Some did a little dance, and many hugged Principal William Baylis II and school board members.

After the ceremony, students reflected on what makes Oberlin special — appreciation and respect for each other.

Hugh Thornton, who will go to the University of Illinois on a football scholarship, said Oberlin was a good place to come home to during a difficult time.

His mother, Michele Thornton and his 8-year-old sister, Marley, had been murdered in Jamaica on Jan. 2, 2004. They were the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of the late Eric T. Nord, the retired chief executive officer of Nordson Corp.

Thornton said it made him happy to hear “Hugh! Hugh! Hugh!” as he received his diploma.

“I was nervous about moving back and having people remember me, and they never treated me differently” because of the tragedy, he said.

His grandmother, Virginia Nord, said, “I think he was intended to come here.”

“As I was walking here, I thought about Michele and Marley and how happy they would be,” she said.

Another student, 6-foot-8 Mykal Isom, got a kick out of the crowd shouting “Six-eight! Six-eight! Six-eight!” as he picked up his diploma.

Isom celebrated graduation by asking a barber friend to razor “Ozone” — his nickname for Oberlin — into the hair on the back of his head.

Isom, who wants to go to barber school himself, said he likes being from Oberlin “because everybody gets along, and you don’t have to worry about getting a ride because you can walk everywhere.”

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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