Ten students will graduate from Hernando Christian and that's the biggest graduating class among the county's four private high schools.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published May 23, 2003
David Dahmer Jr. expects the tears to flow tonight when Hernando Christian Academy graduates 10 seniors, kicking off this year's high school graduation season in Hernando County.
About half the class has spent its daytime hours together for at least 10 years, said Dahmer, and some even longer. Dahmer, one of eight brothers and sisters to pass through the school's halls, has attended the private academy for 15 years.
"It's pretty emotional at graduation, after all we've been through," he said. "A lot of us have gotten in big trouble together, and a lot of us just have done big things together. It's going to be pretty sad, knowing we're all heading in different directions."
So it goes at small, close-knit private schools each spring. The students may come from disparate homes - Dahmer related how his class includes cowgirls, preps and bookworms - but they gel into a cohesive unit that is tough to leave.
Hernando Christian's graduation class is the largest among the county's four private high schools. Wider Horizons School has two graduates, West Hernando Christian School has nine and Spring Hill Christian Academy eight.
"If we were all in a public school, it would be pretty odd to see us all together," said Dahmer, his school's prom king, homecoming king and student government vice president. "There's never a dull moment."
Sara Bowe, Hernando Christian valedictorian and Dahmer's girlfriend, also has attended the school since kindergarten. She said in many ways, Dahmer represents what's good about the Class of 2003.
"He's outgoing, and he's really understanding, like, if anyone has problems, he's always free to talk to anyone, even if he doesn't know them," Bowe said. "If there's one person who's feeling like the outcast, he will go approach them and try to help them have a good time."
Many schoolmates look up to the tousle-haired, lanky soccer player and Eagle Scout known affectionately as "the Dave," she said.
She only hoped they could keep their relationship strong as she heads to Eckerd College while Dahmer pursues life as a missionary in Argentina for the next year and a half. He figured it could happen - he keeps the faith.
Throughout his Hernando Christian career, Dahmer strove to lead, distinguishing himself from others in the school, not to mention the two brothers who came before him. He attended leadership seminars and went through the full Boy Scout regimen.
"I don't like following what other people do and being part of the crowd," he explained. "I just be myself, and if they like me, great."
He got turned on to missionary work about three years ago, when he traveled to Jamaica with an evangelistic group.
At first, his excitement was in going to a beach-filled island, he readily admits.
But as he watched people witness for Jesus, Dahmer said, he got the bug. The next year, in Argentina, he saw how interpreters helped the missionaries spread the word, and he decided he wanted to be an interpreter, too.
"I saw what they did and how they were Bible-educated," he said. "I saw them out there talking to the people and how on fire for God they were. I really wanted to be like them."
So rather than go to college, he decided to work with Word of Life Bible Institute, a New York-based evangelistic ministry with offices in Hudson.
Though that endeavor does not require a high school diploma, Dahmer never considered skipping that milestone.
"Graduation was critical for me," he said. "I wanted to make my family proud, and I wanted to have people still have a reason to look up to me. Being a graduate is important."
Dahmer plans to study theater missions at Palm Beach Atlantic University after his stint in Argentina. Before leaving on his mission, he intends to kayak from Pensacola to New Orleans with a friend.
- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education and politics in Hernando County. He can be reached at 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com
