DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / April 11, 2000

RESERVE – With a polite hug, eighth-graders Lyle Gray Jr. and Jennifer deSt. Germain were married Friday.At least that’s what happened in the eyes of the Leon Godchaux Junior High School student body.

The wedding ceremony was staged with a full contingent of six bridesmaids, six groomsmen, flower girl, ring bearer, junior bride and a preacher/officiator.

Lyle and Jennifer were wed as part of the Real World Project, organized by eighth-grade teacher Kelli Winzer.

Winzer has been running The Real World Project for three years now, previously in the alternative school and now in Leon Godchaux. The projectis designed to help the students get a better feel of what living on your own is like.

The students have been going on job interviews, obtaining jobs, opening bank accounts and now paying bills, all inside the school building.

Some of the kids expecting the world to be better, looking forward to moving out, said Winzer. With the reality the program deals them, “I get alot of ‘I didn’t know this.'” The students are finding out what they may have thought was simple is not always so, Winzer said. The bills, newly introduced, have beencomplained about, though Winzer has yet to add house and utility payments.

The newlyweds will get a bill for around $7,000 pretty soon, said Winzer.

Before the actual procession, Cargill plant superintendent Donnie Love gave a presentation on his experiences in the real world.

“Take advantage of the opportunities being given you and set your goals,” said Love.

He explained how he grew up in Mississippi in the poorest county in the United States. Neither his father nor his mother graduated from highschool, but he said he was able to rise above his surroundings through education. By setting small goals he finished high school, then college, andhas worked all across the country, finally supervising the Cargill Plant in St. John Parish.”Don’t let coming from a poor area be a downfall for you. I came from a10-child family. The fight is from within,” Love said.Love offered advice on how to succeed in life, citing education, respect for oneself and setting small goals as the foundations.

As the wedding ceremony began, the groomsmen escorted the bridesmaids to their place by the officiator, fellow classmate Roger Burks Jr. Thebride arrived and the happy couple took their place in the ceremony. Aftera short welcome by Burks, he informed the audience that the couple had prepared their own vows.

Lyle promised, with utmost sincerity, to always carry Jennifer’s books for her, unless of course they were to heavy or he had class somewhere else.

Also, he promised to always help out with her homework and tests, unless it surpassed his knowledge and understanding. Finally he swore to alwaystrust her and strive never to do anything that would lessen her trust for him. Jennifer followed in the same vein, promising, “In life’s journey Iwill always be there for you.”After the vows Burks led the couple through exchanging their rings, which sealed them in matrimony – at least until the end of the school year. Thehappy couple appropriately hugged and Burks presented them to the audience as Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Gray Jr.Amidst the humor the audience found in seeing someone their own age get married, the ceremony was as real and solemn as a mock wedding could be.

Before the wedding party broke for the reception luncheon, a tribute was paid to their fellow student Joshua Sanders, who had been killed in a carjacking the Monday before.

There was a candlelight memorial by some of Joshua’s friends as others read poetry they had written in honor of their friendship. One readeradvised his classmates to live their lives until their time was over.

Principal Grady Hall took a few moments to remind the students of what they had seen that afternoon.

“You have witnessed two of life’s experiences, both at the opposite of the spectrum: happiness, joy and delight in one; sadness, sympathy and regret in the other,” he said, adding one must learn to except, deal with and move on, preparing oneself for a better life.

He asked the students to attend the funeral dressed in their school uniforms.

“We need to show we appreciated him,” Hall said, adding while some knew and loved him more than others, above all “he was one of us.”

Return To News Stories