Fifty-two graduating seniors at Wayland Academy listened to Gov. Jim Doyle tell them that they are needed to build a stronger country.

"So much has changed in one year," Doyle said about the change in economy. "We need you to go to college and get the best education that you can get."

Doyle, who attended the 154th Wayland Academy commencement ceremony on Sunday with his wife Jessica Doyle, said that his own son Gabe greatly benefited from his education at Wayland. Gabe graduated in 1997.

It was the second commencement speech that Doyle has made at Wayland. Doyle was the commencement speaker in 2000 when he was Wisconsin's State Attorney General.

"Take the values that you have learned here and keep them as you move into the professional world," Doyle said.

The graduating class represented five states and four countries. Doyle said that the students learn a lot from that diversity.

"I hope all of you appreciate that while you have a small class, you have a class that shows the diversity of the world," Doyle said to the seniors.

This year, the school has 52 graduates representing five states and four countries. Among the graduates were seven Beaver Dam students Adam Bunkoske, Andrew Haberman, Tyler Hill, Sarah Janisewski, Edward Randerson, Jeffrey Vogl Rauscher and Amberly Ritchie; Brennan Fitzgerald, Juneau; Spencer Schumann, Fall River, and Veronica Neumann Thompson, Cambria.

Class president Xue Wu, from Shanghai, China welcomed the students and their families. She was followed by salutatorians Mark Bruning, Crystal Lake, Ill. And Brendan Weinstein, Park Ridge, Ill.

"The best advice I can give you is to live one day at a time and to have fun doing it," Bruning said. "We've finally made it."

Richard Kimberly, '54, received the Distinguished Service Citation to Wayland Academy for his almost 50 years as a Board of Trustee for Wayland Academy.

"Don't forget your character and knowledge," Kimberly told the graduates.

Valedictorian Audrey Rauschert gave the underclassmen who attend the ceremony some words to think about as they approach their final years at the school.

"One year ago today, we sat in the bleachers and listened to the ceremony hoping this day would come for us," Rauschert said.