BHS Class of 2024 – (from left) Alexander Harmon, Sterling Stewart, Trevor Hankey, Mylee Sims. In front of all of them is Logan Stewart.
Burlington High School's commencement speaker, Sarah (Garvie) Wilbur, stands with the class valedictorian Sterling Stewart and class salutatorian Alexander Harmon.
Burlington 2016 graduate-turned-nurse Sarah (Garvie) Wilbur gave new Burlington graduates a symbolic "first aid kit" to help them in the years to come.
Introduced by Superintendent Spears as a basketball and academic standout during her days as a Lady Elk, Wilbur was ranked No. 10 as all-time leading scorers for high school women's basketball in the state of Oklahoma.
"I have created an emergency first-aid kit to always keep you prepared in case of emergency," Wilbur said. "Your very own kit is on your celebration table. I am a nurse, so I wanted to share some tools for you to use in the future, figuratively and well maybe literally."
After Sarah Wilbur graduated from Burlington High School, she attended Northern Oklahoma College in Enid for one year as a State Regent's Scholar and played basketball for the Lady Jets. She was then recruited to play at the Division 1 level at Oral Roberts University (ORU) for the remainder of her college basketball career. Wilbur obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2021 from ORU. She was chosen as the Outstanding Nursing School Graduate by her instructors.
After graduation, Wilbur worked for a year and a half on a cardiac floor in a Tulsa hospital. She then moved home and started working at Kiowa District Hospital, where she is currently employed today. She married her best friend, Grant Wilber, and has been enjoying their busy lives together. She helps Grant on the farm with his business, Wilber Genetics, raising show pigs. Last fall, Wilbur started school again at Northwestern Oklahoma State University to obtain her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree to become a nurse practitioner.
In her talk, Wilbur referred to some of the graduates' "lasts" as Burlington Elks – the last days of high school, last Elks homecoming, last national and state FFA convention, last robotics competition, last high school basketball game, last prom, and the list goes on.
"I hope you smile and have great memories from your time as a Burlington Elk," she said. "Use your talents and abilities to make an impact for the better, on others and on this world."
Fittingly, given her life since graduation, Wilbur's address to the graduates used first aid kit items to evoke symbolic meanings behind each.
Summing up, Wilbur said, "Now let's review the main concepts one more time: The gauze represents the importance of developing connections and relationships with other people. The band-aid represents being a servant to others. The hand cleansing wipe represents the new chapter of life ahead and embracing the change that comes with it. And, lastly, the antibiotic represents the difficulties in life you will encounter and the emphasis on overcoming those challenges and to keep moving forward.
"I hope after tonight, when you see a first aid kit, that you might remember the advice I have shared with you. Seniors, I am watching you from the very edge of my seat. I can't wait to see you use every gift, talent, opportunity and dream to bend the spotlight toward the God who created you in His image. Tonight, you complete one milestone, but there are so many more that are ahead. The adventure awaits! You got this and good luck!"
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