Congratulations Devon Renee Hilts – Class of 2013
by Jenny Chissus
It is a tradition to introduce our Seniors in the Gazette each year. Though there aren’t any high school graduates from Susan B. English in 2013, Devon Hilts, who resides in Seldovia, has received her diploma through Connections, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s distance learning program. She is one of our own, and we celebrate this accomplishment with her this year! Congratulations Devon!
Join Devon and her family in celebrating this accomplishment at a baccalaureate service, this Sunday, 3:00pm at the Seldovia Bible Chapel. Everyone is welcome and there will be a dessert potluck to follow!
Gazette: What is your “Seldovia” story?
Devon: I moved here with my mom in 2005. I came here from Yakutat, and before that Seattle. We moved here to be close to family. It’s nice being near my Ahna and Papa (Sunni and Rod Hilts).
Gazette: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Now, as a Senior – what do you want to be when you grow up? How has that changed?
Devon: As a child, I wanted to be a singer when I grew up. My grandma Charlotte said when I was little I would sing a lot. Now as a senior, I want to work with foster kids and counseling, and add in photography. I’d like to take pictures of foster children because it will help create special memories that they won’t forget. I’d like to help them remember things that once made them happy as a child; forget the bad, remember the good.
Gazette: What are some of your favorite school/Seldovia memories?
Devon: In Seldovia, I have really enjoyed walking to the beach, taking photos, spending time with people who I love. As far as school, I remember having to sing a solo in Hansel and Gretel, even though I didn’t want to sing a solo! I want to say that I really enjoyed working with Mary Montgomery. She was easy to talk to, we got along real well, and she helped me better than any other teacher I can remember.
Gazette: What are your plans this summer? This next year?
Devon: My plan for this summer is to move to Soldotna where I will work and see what happens. In the fall, I’m going to go to Kenai Peninsula College and I’ll be studying Human Services and Photography. I’m pretty excited to have a chance to be even able to do it because I’m the first one in my family to graduate, and go to college.
Gazette: Growing up requires a lot of help – who do you want to thank? Who made a big impression on you and has influenced you in a positive way? Who deserves a “Virtual Rose”?
Devon: I would like to thank my mom, the Hoards, Ahna and Papa for always helping me and being there, and dealing with my stubbornness! I’d also like to thank my Grandma and my brother Kyle in Seattle who I lived with when I was little, and my Aunt Velvet and Uncle Wayne Ivers in Yakutat who took me in when I was six.
My mom, Laurel Hilts, made a big impression in my life, and my cousin, Keith Ivers (who calls me his sister) has been a great big brother. There’s a lot of people who I could thank. Kaitlyn Ivers, Natalie Grimes, Hae Sook McCrary, Chaela Hilts (my sister!), and more than I can even list.
Gazette: What would you do with your life if you KNEW you could not fail?
Devon: If I could do anything in my life, I would go to Ireland to explore. Ha. Devon, the Explorer!
Gazette: What is your Favorite Quote?
Devon: A favorite quote of mine is the verse I put on my graduation announcement: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Gazette: Devon, Any final thoughts?
Devon: I would like to say that I am proud of the person I am today, and all the people who loved me; my mom who raised me right – it took me a while to work through things in my life, and now I see things differently with a good perspective. I am proud to be a Tlingit Indian, plus all of the other things and experiences that make me who I am.
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