May 2025

George Ayoub

Class of 1968
Alumni Liaison

Volume 10 | Number 3

Welcome to Rise, the voice of Grand Island Senior High alumni and friends. We show up every other month in over 9,000 in-boxes bringing you news, views, and memories of GISH. Rise is a publication of the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.

This is Issue #3 of our tenth year of publishing the only consistent connection for alumni and friends of Grand Island Senior High. That makes this iteration 57 of Rise as we reach a decade of bringing the comings and goings of Islander alums across the globe.

We'll start with Wandering Writer Sarah Kuta’s piece on some of the incredible species of animals she has written about in her journalistic travels around the globe. Great read and videos. “On the Island” correspondent, Alex Weaver, takes us inside three big events for him and his fellow seniors, including graduation, which took place on May 11. By the way, Alex, congrats from the Rise family.  Foundation Executive Director Kari Hooker-Leep and Foundation Office Resource & Data Coordinator Abigayle Frazier-Hansen take us back to kindergarten and then work their way through school highlighting the Foundation’s work along that journey.

In this issue’s “At the Top,” we remember the core focus of the Foundation and provide a link for readers to see who won 2025 scholarships. Mike Monk is offering a summer reading list for those interested as he details some good books in his “Distant Mirror.” My “I’ve Been Thinking” column reminds graduating seniors of a couple of important thoughts they shouldn’t miss on the way out the door.

As usual, in our In Memoriam we have a list of Islanders who have passed, in Reunions we have class gatherings and other class get-togethers, and in Class Notes we have the lives and times of Islanders everywhere. And, once again, you’ll get a chance to test your memory or at least your Google search skills with another edition of Islander Trivia.

Stay in touch, Islanders. And remember: Keep pushing on.