Time to move on to the next stage

ARLINGTON — While fans of Arlington High School musical theater might expect Justin Goheen to try his luck on Broadway, the 18-year-old graduating senior has his heart set on becoming a youth pastor.

It isn’t as if music and drama won’t ever be part of his life again, said Goheen, who is perhaps best known at school for his role as Peter Pan.

“I got the bug in my freshman year,” he said. “It’s way too fun to let it go.”

From a musical family, Goheen plays drums in a church band and is interested in staging musicals in the church setting.

For now, though, he plans to graduate Tuesday, then work and attend Everett Community College in the fall. Later, he expects to transfer to Multnomah Bible College and Seminary in Portland or Moody Bible Institute in Spokane or Chicago.

Goheen is a member of Smokey Point Community Church, where he has an internship this summer working with the middle-school-age kids there.

“I really want to share my ability to relate to youth and speak to people,” Goheen said. “I’ve wanted to be a youth pastor since seventh grade.”

Since his freshman year, Gooheen has been a member of Arlington High School’s popular Jazzmine show choir and has sung in the Silhouettes men’s a capella quartet, both under the direction of choir teacher Lyle Forde.

Drama teacher Scott Moberly cast Goheen as entertainment agent Albert Peterson in “Bye, Bye Birdie,” Goheen’s senior-year musical. As a freshman, Goheen had a supporting role in “Pippin,” the last musical staged in the old high school auditorium, and he played Luther in “South Pacific,” the first musical in the Byrnes Performing Arts Center.

“Having the performing arts center has made such a difference for students in music and drama at Arlington High School,” Goheen said. “Forde and Moberly have produced the best shows in the history of this school there.”

Even with all of his other performances during high school, it’s the musical “Peter Pan” that people still identify with Goheen.

“It was fun, but also physically challenging and sometimes painful during the flying scenes,” Goheen said. “I remember leaving a pool of sweat on the stage.”

Graduates 2010