I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
June 3, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
Red Lake High School senior Harvey Roy III will repeat history today when he is bestowed the honor of class valedictorian at his graduation ceremony.
Roy will be named his class' valedictorian some 28 years after his mother, Willa Beaulieu, received the same honor in 1971.
Red Lake High School will graduate 35 students in a 1 p.m. ceremony today at the Red Lake Middle School.
As far as school officials know, it is the first time in district history that two members of the same immediate family have earned the honor.
"It was a lot of hard work, and I'm proud of him," Beaulieu said Tuesday.
Roy, who has been active in athletics and student government while in high school, has always earned awards for his academic merit, Beaulieu said.
While attending first grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Bemidji, he was awarded his class' leadership award. And while he attended sixth through eighth grade at Bemidji Middle School, he also earned academic recognition.
Then, as Roy finished middle school in Bemidji, he decided he wanted to finish high school in Red Lake so he could join the famed Red Lake Warriors boys' basketball team.
When Beaulieu consulted with his middle school teachers about the switch in schools, she said they told her, "Harvey would do well anywhere."
Beaulieu, who came from a family where six of 10 children graduated from college, credits her mother with instilling the value of education in her.
"I value education. My mom raised us that way," she said. "Parents have to be involved -- get their kids to school and work with their teachers. They can't expect school to be a babysitting service."
First-year Red Lake High School Principal Chris Dunshee said the historical tie between Roy and his mother has added a special twist to this year's graduation ceremony.
"We're trying to get students to value education," he said. "So, to have a mother and a son do this adds something special to graduation.
"Harvey is a real conscientious and hard-working student. I think he'll go on (to) do big things and brink back a lot of pride to Red Lake."
Roy also will attend Bemidji State University this fall, just like his mother did 25-plus years ago. He plans to study business administration, while his mother graduated with a degree in social work.
Roy, although talented, is not boastful and declined to discuss his accomplishments.
"I guess he's afraid to be interviewed," his mom said while chuckling.
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