Montana teen is in a class by himself ... literally

updated 6:37 a.m. ET May 18, 2008

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Jeff Greenwood is in a class by himself.

He was the only student to graduate from Opheim High School this year, but the small event Friday drew a big name. Gov. Brian Schweitzer gave the commencement address.

Greenwood, who plans to attend Dickinson State University in North Dakota, said the high school is the "hub of activity" for rural Opheim, a town about 10 miles south of the Canadian border.

"The student-to-teacher ratio is pretty good," said Greenwood, who is the student body president and, of course, the senior class president.

Greenwood had a few classmates before high school, but his last remaining classmate moved to Utah during freshman year. He took some classes alone his senior year while sharing others with juniors at the school.

"You get to know everybody and you're friends with everybody," Greenwood said. "At the same time, you can't get away with anything."

Principal LeRoy Nelson, who has also been school superintendent, said he thought this was the first time the school graduated just one student. Six students graduated last year and 12 are on track to graduate in 2009.

Nelson said he thinks single-member classes will become more common as enrollment drops at rural schools. Last year, one other Montana school had one graduate. Schweitzer spoke there as well.

More from msnbc.com Easing job losses point to wobbly recovery Cars are approaching ‘auto’ pilot mode Were you paying attention? Take our news quiz  Facebook’s fantasy games cost more than time How readers got pieces of Berlin Wall | Gallery  Not supposed to worry about troops at home On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM WEIRD NEWS

Weird news Section Front

Airplane part falls onto N.Y. home’s front lawn Miss. gov’s son gets 2 holes-in-one in one round SUV sideswipes elephant in Oklahoma Giant snake capture in Florida was a hoax Brazilian makes surprise visit at own funeral Want to own more than 3 cats? Get a license S.C. man gets 3 years for sex with horse Police try again to sell motorized DWI chair Police sort through belongings of stolen luggage Pa. mom, daughter admit theft from girl, 9 Weird news Section Front   Add Weird news headlines to your news reader: