Rural Catholic school graduates third-, fourth-generation students

Published: 2004-06-16

HARTINGTON, Neb. (CNS) -- For Holly Becker's family, this year's commencement ceremony at Cedar Catholic High School had extra special meaning. Not only was she a member of the school's 100th graduating class, but she also continued a tradition that has been in her family for four generations. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother all graduated from the Hartington school. So did her brothers, her father and her grandfather. "Who'd ever think that my granddaughter would be graduating from the same school I went to," Jeanne Kuehn, Becker's grandmother and a 1960 graduate of the school, told The Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Omaha Archdiocese. "It really gives you a sense of pride." Becker's situation is not that unusual. Of the 42 students in her graduating class, 10 are at least third-generation students. "That just goes to show the longevity of support and devotion and dedication we have from the people who have gone before us and who are here today and their commitment to Catholic education," said Michael McCabe, principal.

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