Ray’s Ray of Hope – Posse Positive Person of the Night – A Montgomery High School Senior Graduating with 13 Years of Perfect Attendance

Noteworthy for sure.

A high school senior is about to graduate with a perfect attendance record.
How many others can boast of a similar accomplishment.

My guess is not too many, but when a milestone like that is reached, it deserves props.

Hence, tonight’s Posse Positive Person nod goes to Natalie Larson of Montgomery.

According to this:
,when her classmates flocked to the beaches on senior skip day last month, Natalie Larson attended class and stayed true to a personal goal instead — maintaining her 13-year record of perfect school attendance.

“I wanted to do this for myself so I could be proud of job well done,” Larson said. “After I had forgone so many things, I thought, ‘Why not stick with it?’”

Larson, an 18-year-old senior at Montgomery High School, said her path to long-term punctuality began in eighth grade, when she was awarded a $15 gift certificate for the Thomas Sweet ice cream shop as a reward for perfect attendance at St. Paul Catholic School.

As she got older, she was inspired by her grandfather, who worked at AT&T for 28 years and never missed a day of work, she said.

“My dad always told me I was blessed with great genes from my grandpa,” Larson said.
High school vice principal Damien Pappa said Larson has never had an unexcused absence from school, and he praised her commitment to education.

Though temptations to give in and skip class arose as she progressed through high school, she wanted to prove to herself that she could carry out her mission, Larson said.

“She set this goal all by herself,” her father Ron Larson said. “She has her friends cheering her on and supporting her.”

Larson said she juggled running cross country and track, playing basketball and keeping track of the statistics for the football and swim teams, along with lifeguarding and volunteering at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

The future business major, who wrote her college essay about her attendance goal, is set to graduate June 21 and plans to attend Pennsylvania State University.

Resisting the temptation to take part in “Senior Cut Day” had to be difficult, but why give in to temptation when you’re so close to your goal.

That’s the reason why Natalie deserves the honor of being the Posse Positive Person of the Day.