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Ceremony honors Class of 2010
In a year marked with monumental changes, personal challenges and significant tragedies, Mountain Home High School honored 227 of its students during a graduation ceremony Friday evening.
Hundreds of spectators packed into Tiger Stadium to honor this year's seniors, which included 59 honor graduates.
Over the past four years, the Class of 2010 overcame significant hurdles standing in their way, leaving behind a legacy other classes will remember for years to come, said Principal Jeff Johnson.
Even before the school year began, this year's seniors dealt with the death of classmate Garret Bradshaw last June. Graduates at Friday's ceremony pinned ribbons of various colors to their gowns in his honor.
In addition, the high school dealt with the deaths of two staff members while simultaneously trying to blend an entire freshman class into the building for the first time in recent history.
Over the past school year, many of these students faced an assortment of personal challenges as their families dealt with the ongoing economic crisis, Johnson said. Some of their parents lost their jobs while others faced the possibility of losing their homes as well.
Even the weather threatened to serve as one final challenge for these graduates with overcast skies threatening to dump rain during the commencement ceremony. However, Johnson remained adamant about keeping the ceremony outside versus cramming everyone into the school's gymnasium.
"If our (girls') softball team could win back-to-back state championships in a snow storm, we could deal with a little wind," Johnson said.
Throughout these past four years, the class learned the meaning of the motto, "life's not always easy," Johnson said. "How they handled these situations showed that the Class of 2010 was the right one" to deal with these monumental changes and challenges, he added. They bonded together to become stronger students and stronger graduates.
"Their legacy will be felt for years to come," Johnson said.
This same desire for excellence also pushed these graduates to earn more than $500,000 in scholarships and grants, including $70,000 from local businesses, the principal added.
As part of last week's commencement ceremony, the class honored six valedictorians, each of whom maintained flawless 4.0 grade point averages during the school year. While many of them took the time to honor their parents and peers as their sources of inspiration, some looked to others to keep them moving forward over the years.
Carolyn Hughes drew inspiration to excel from her older sister, Cheryl. Born with Downs Syndrome and stricken with multiple complications, her big sister didn't live to see her second birthday.
Throughout her life, Carolyn dedicated her life to creating a lasting legacy for both herself and her sister. This drive pushed the senior to take the hardest classes each school year and remain heavily involved in team sports.
"I hoped to live out all the dreams that (Cheryl) couldn't achieve," she said.
Meanwhile, Caitlin Kreyche recalled some of the countless memories she's gathered since moving to Mountain Home a year and a half ago in what she called a "lucky and rewarding life."
The Class of 2010 showed her that "high school only comes once" and people can't waste these years worrying about trivial things or feeling anxious about being in a new school, Kreyche said.
"Be grateful for our high school years," added valedictorian Tanya McKenzie.
While each of the school's valedictorians used poems to summarize their thoughts, Lucas Marsh selected one as a challenge to his fellow students. Quoting a selection from Robert Frost, he asked which path his fellow students would take after graduation. Marsh urged them to take the harder path -- the one less taken.
"We have a responsibility to take the right path" to benefit our communities versus the easy path that leads to selfishness and nothing more, Marsh said. "The future lies in each of our hands."