MU High School celebrates graduating class of 2007

The MU High School recognized 22 graduating students who were present during a ceremony in Memorial Union on Saturday afternoon.

The MU High School graduating class of 2007 had about 90 students from 20 different states and five foreign countries. Of the students who attended the graduation, 21 were from Missouri, while one student traveled from her home state of Vermont.

MU High School principal Kristi Smalley said the school appeals to students for a variety of reasons.

“For some students, a large public school wasn’t right for them,” she said.

Smalley also described a situation with a student in New Zealand who had been spending time circumnavigating the globe on a sailboat with his family. The student’s older brother had also completed the program.

“They would come into port and submit a lesson,” Smalley said.

MU High School is a program in the MU Center for Distance and Independent Study that offers alternative classes, such as correspondence courses and online instruction. More than 150 courses are offered, and the school is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement.

Graduate Elizabeth Jambor, of Jefferson City, was drawn to the program after being dissatisfied with her public high school.

“I wanted to work at my own pace, at my own convenience,” she said.

Jambor’s mother, Donna Jambor, was so pleased with the program that she has been recommending it to others.

“It builds self-esteem and is more challenging,” she said. “It really tested (Elizabeth) a lot. Some of her past teachers were saying the classes she was taking looked really interesting.”

Many of the graduates, including Jambor, plan to attend college in the fall. The class of 2007 also included two Bright Flight scholarship recipients and one student who had received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Columbia Missourian reporter Spencer Willems contributed to this article.