Tassel worth the Hassle: Graduation across the Southern Willamette Valley

BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE. Thurston High School seniors walk proudly after receiving their diplomas last weekend. The Chronicle, as part of its hyper-local mission, attended several area schools' graduation ceremonies, including Thurston, Springfield, Creswell, Cottage Grove, Al Kennedy, Pleasant Hill, and the Academy of Arts & Academics. Read about the Classes of 2023's seniors, their ceremonies, their journey through unconventional education during a pandemic, and their triumphs. Next week, Chronicle subscribers will receive a copy of Class Acts: Graduation Magazine, which includes senior portraits, ceremony photos, and more information on area seniors.

Cottage Grove High

COTTAGE GROVE – Thankfully, Wisper Pilling sees the world from a vastly different lens than the one she used as a 5-year-old. 

“She wanted to quit kindergarten – she said she hated it and just wanted to go,” said her mother, Penelope Pilling, after Saturday’s outdoor commencement ceremony at Cottage Grove High School. 

A school-record amount of scholarships was distributed, and Pilling was one of the big winners in that department, receiving…

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