Published: Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Class of 2009: Part-time senior made the most of his year
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Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Home-schooler and Glacier Peak High School graduating senior Brock Wolitarsky.
SNOHOMISH -- There weren't supposed to be any seniors at Glacier Peak High School this year. Brock Wolitarsky is glad there were.
He was one of two part-time seniors at the new high school that opened this year.
For years, Brock studied at home where he could plumb the depths of history, exploring on his own the exploits of George Washington, Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Crazy Horse.
He cherished lessons at the kitchen table and those cozy days in grade school gathering with his mom and sister to study Bible verses.
Yet there were times he felt he was missing something. As he grew older, the outgoing teenager wanted to see how he would fit in on a big campus.
The transition was lonely last year as a junior when he entered the public school system for the first time, taking two classes at Snohomish High School, where everyone seemed to have established groups and routines.
So this fall, he enrolled part-time at Glacier Peak High School. Before the first class, Brock, 18, pulled out a piece of notebook paper and wrote a senior year wish list -- one he has been remarkably successful at completing.
It included:
Make new friends. Check.
Win an academic award. Check.
Perform in a high school play. Check.
Participate in a sport, or, in his case, on the Hi-Q academic team. Check.
Earn a scholarship. Check.
Host an assembly. Check.
Find a girlfriend. Check.
Get into the newspaper. Check.
"I wanted to find a purpose in what I was doing," Brock said. "I wanted to prove I could be a leader, not just in words but actions."
He was voted president of the school's German Club and was student body president for Academy Northwest, a Snohomish-based home school cooperative. He was accepted to Whitworth College in Spokane but will attend Everett Community College to save up for the private school tuition first.
He is one of two part-time seniors attending Glacier Peak, which opened in the fall for freshmen, sophomores and juniors, and he often drives to school with his dad, a science teacher there.
"I have the privilege of saying, 'I'm the Class of 2009 at Glacier Peak High School.' "
For all the fun he has had his senior year, Brock is thankful his parents chose to home school him.
"I would not trade any part of my life," he said. "Looking back, I can see how every step was helpful."
More of the Class of 2009:
Cancer hasn't dimmed grad's spirit
Drummer is always upbeat
Handling a balancing act with grace
Her education gave her purpose
Science whiz knows just where she belongs: MIT
He was one of two part-time seniors at the new high school that opened this year.
For years, Brock studied at home where he could plumb the depths of history, exploring on his own the exploits of George Washington, Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Crazy Horse.
He cherished lessons at the kitchen table and those cozy days in grade school gathering with his mom and sister to study Bible verses.
Yet there were times he felt he was missing something. As he grew older, the outgoing teenager wanted to see how he would fit in on a big campus.
The transition was lonely last year as a junior when he entered the public school system for the first time, taking two classes at Snohomish High School, where everyone seemed to have established groups and routines.
So this fall, he enrolled part-time at Glacier Peak High School. Before the first class, Brock, 18, pulled out a piece of notebook paper and wrote a senior year wish list -- one he has been remarkably successful at completing.
It included:
Make new friends. Check.
Win an academic award. Check.
Perform in a high school play. Check.
Participate in a sport, or, in his case, on the Hi-Q academic team. Check.
Earn a scholarship. Check.
Host an assembly. Check.
Find a girlfriend. Check.
Get into the newspaper. Check.
"I wanted to find a purpose in what I was doing," Brock said. "I wanted to prove I could be a leader, not just in words but actions."
He was voted president of the school's German Club and was student body president for Academy Northwest, a Snohomish-based home school cooperative. He was accepted to Whitworth College in Spokane but will attend Everett Community College to save up for the private school tuition first.
He is one of two part-time seniors attending Glacier Peak, which opened in the fall for freshmen, sophomores and juniors, and he often drives to school with his dad, a science teacher there.
"I have the privilege of saying, 'I'm the Class of 2009 at Glacier Peak High School.' "
For all the fun he has had his senior year, Brock is thankful his parents chose to home school him.
"I would not trade any part of my life," he said. "Looking back, I can see how every step was helpful."
More of the Class of 2009:
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