last Saturday in South Dakota our next guest celebrated her graduation from Harold high
school as the sole member of the class of 2002 ladies and Gentlemen please welcome new graduate
April Klein Schmid April welcome to the show thank you welcome to New York City have youve
been to New York before no I haven't this is my first time well and what is your impression on
your first visit it's huge it's exciting isn't it yes it is yeah uh now uh I Told part of this
story perhaps badly at the beginning of the show but you were the only member of your senior class
is that right how how big is the high school Al together there's 15 from seven or grades
9 through 12 so the entire uh student body was 15 yes wow and and how is it that you were the
only senior well last year there were three of us and one of them decided to graduate early and
the other one transferred schools leaving me by myself well well did anybody say you know
just you you don't even need to come in anymore or you might as well stay at home we don't we
don't with nothing much we can do here with one person did you have regular classes and
stuff yeah most of my classes were just me and one of the teachers and then I had a few
classes that were over the Vil system which is a TV program and it's got two TVs one shows me
and the other shows the site that the television program is coming from with the teacher at that
site and we could talk back and forth through live television through that and and uh when
there's only one person in the senior class uh I guess I know you don't have a football team
right you I mean is there a football team at the school well actually we co-op with a neighboring
town oh so you pair up with another school and and and was there a prom did you have a senior
prom no actually instead of a prom we go on a senior trip but since there was [Laughter]
only and where where did you go well actually instead of just having me go on a trip by myself I
um the Juniors helped me raise the money and then we went on a trip to Hawaii you so the Juniors
helped you raise the money and then everybody how many in that group went to Hawaii three
three now now now do you feel like you got a a a better education because you were the only
person in the senior class or do do you think maybe you've done better at a school with with
more classmates no actually I think I got a better education being the only one because
if I didn't understand anything all I had to do is like well wait a minute I don't understand
that and they can't be like well most of the class gets it so we have to move on that's right I see
and and and how how many teachers did you have your senior year um including the teachers that
I had on Vel I had five or six five or six well that seems I mean that seems just about
right for for anybody and and you were the uh you were the valedictorian of your graduating
class was that yes I was and and what did you tell yourself I don't what do you did you have
a speech and stuff yeah at graduation I did have a valedictorian speech and you gave it
to the rest of the student body right well the way I started out with my speech was I
started out saying that in most instances I would be talking about my classmates and how
much fun we had throughout high school but in my case I couldn't do that so I
talked about my own high school experience with basketball and drama and everything that I did
throughout high school and then I addressed the underclassman for a while and gave them
my advice and and what advice did you impart to the underclassman I told them to take their High
School experience for all it is worth because there's nothing that you will experience quite
like it and I told them to stand for something or you'll fall for anything um ah ah pretty
good uh and and and are are you're going to college now yes now well what is that going to
be like when you you go into your first class and you see other people what will that do to
you well it'll be kind of different I think but I'm really looking forward to it yeah I
would think so and and what what are you going to study special education oh oh good for you
God bless you and where will you be going to college Black Hill State University in
Spearfish South Dakota and what what is life like for you and your your town is heral South
Dakota what what is the population of heral 209 including in the city or town and then
the surrounding area in the country like where I live uhuh and is it's obviously agricultural
yes it's very much agricultural we that's what most of the people that live in the town do uh
my house my dad is a farmer and Rancher and he's also a tour guide for pheasant hunting oh so that
that's great in the offseason he supplements the income by taking folks out for pheasant hunters
and things like that yes well that sounds like a pretty good life you enjoy life there in South
Dakota yes I do do you ever go nuts and kind of creep up into North Dakota we see what's going
on up there take a look what's happening what did what did you do uh to celebrate the night
that you graduated well I wasn't well actually I went to pier and my boyfriend and I went out
to eat and then we rented a couple of movies right well that's all right no that's that's
all right i' I've done that myself uh and what are you going to do for the summer do you have
plans for the summer I am going to work in Pier at East Side neighborhood center it's a daycare
center and and then your college begins uh when in this in this late summer early fall what what
time in September September well I I hope that turns out to be a love lovely experience and
your folks must be very proud of you aren't they yes you have brothers and sisters yes I have four
uh oh and they're younger than you uh I'm right in the middle you're right in the middle and did
they have other people in their graduating class or were yeah actually they did both of my older
siblings had nine in their graduating class wow my God it's a regular convention well we
got you some roses for your graduation nice meeting April thank you very much enjoy your
time in New York City say hello to the folks in South Dakota we'll be right back with Patty Love
[Music] everybody