Once-reluctant student pulls through

There were moments when a high school diploma seemed elusive to Matthew Atkinson.The Spokane teen got off to a bad start when he first came to North Central High School. He hardly paid attention in class, didn’t turn in homework, didn’t really care.

By the end of his freshman year, he had a D average. During his sophomore year, he considered dropping out.

Fortunately, Atkinson experienced a turnaround thanks to a few key people: a school counselor who took the time to listen; teachers who nurtured his gift for working with tools and metals; a girlfriend who inspired him and kicked his butt into gear.

On Saturday, the 18-year-old donned a black cap and gown and joined roughly 300 other North Central grads for their graduation ceremony at the Spokane Opera House. It was a moment he will cherish forever.

“I’m really glad I made it,” said Atkinson. “It came down to the wire.”

For thousands of area teens who accepted diplomas this weekend, graduation is a rite of passage – a celebration, a conclusion, a commencement. Often heralded at these events are the valedictorians, the class president and the all-star athletes. But somewhere in between the kids who drop out of school and those who graduate with honors are people like Atkinson – students who never excelled in class, played sports or took part in extracurricular activities, but slogged through the school year and somehow managed to pull through.

“In the beginning, I didn’t think school was a big deal,” recalled Atkinson. “I didn’t take it seriously.”

In fact, there was a time he thought it would be better to drop out and just get a GED.

But Tracey King soon changed all that. Atkinson met her at Hoopfest the summer before his junior year, and they started dating.

While Atkinson was barely hanging on academically, King, a student at Lewis and Clark High School, took honors classes and rarely got grades below an A. She encouraged him to try harder and emphasized the importance of a high school diploma. Often, she would stay up late at night making sure he was done with his assignments before doing her own work.

“I would have dropped out if it hadn’t been for her,” said Atkinson.

There were others keeping an eye out for Atkinson: Christine Welch, his counselor who gave him advice; Don Sandborn, who taught him technical math, “common-sense stuff” and helped him realize he wanted to work in the auto industry; Danette Driscoll, another teacher who made sure he was passing his classes – “she kept me on my toes,” said Atkinson.

Before he knew it, he started envisioning a future after high school. Someday, Atkinson wants to work at a car dealership and become a head auto technician. He also would like to own a drag-racing team and an auto performance shop.

During his senior year, Atkinson took classes through Career Path Services, which has a program that allows students who fail courses to retrieve those credits. He finished the school year with a B average.

“I kept reminding him of his goals,” said King. “I kept telling him how proud I would be to see him walk across the stage to get that diploma.”

While King gave him pep talks and helped with homework, Atkinson showed his girlfriend that there was more to high school than getting good grades.

“He taught me how to have fun,” said King, who used to get stressed out over her performance in school. “There’s more to life than grades.”

On Saturday, the couple attended each other’s graduation ceremonies at the Opera House.

King, who graduated with honors from Lewis and Clark, will major in biology at Washington State University. She hopes to become a doctor someday or maybe teach biology. Atkinson, who has a job this summer as a lot attendant at Camp Imports, will attend Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix.

Watching Atkinson work so hard this past year has also inspired King. “He’s my hero,” she said.