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Honoring the Class of 2011
The rain finally subsided just 20 minutes before the ceremony started.
For the first time in days, the sun broke through a break in the clouds with its light shining on the crowd that gathered at Tiger Stadium on Friday.
Perhaps it was a symbol of things to come -- a fresh start and a new beginning after years of hard work. For this year's graduating class, it meant something more. For the Class of 2011, it marked the end of more than a decade of work and a chance for these teens to seek their own destiny.
One by one, Mountain Home High School's 239 graduating seniors stepped forward to accept their diplomas and begin a new chapter their lives.
"While they have reached their goal of making it to graduation, their true success has come from their journey to this day," said Principal Jeff Johnson during his comments at last week's commencement ceremony. While these students traveled rocky roads to reach this point in their lives, "instead of giving up, these students figured out ways to make the best out of the situation and learn from their experiences."
These students challenged themselves with an academic workload that placed on them even greater demands, Johnson said. Over the past year, these students earned more than 1,300 college credits through the school's concurrent credit courses. Those additional, advanced classes will allow some of these students to enter college with sophomore status.
This same level of hard work paid additional dividends with the graduating class earning approximately $300,000 in scholarships, including more than $65,000 from the local community, the principal added.
During this past year, the students of the graduating class also emerged as leaders, Johnson said. When disciplinary issues arose that affected the entire school, the seniors took charge and enforced the standards that put an end to future problems.
"You took ownership and pride in your school and strove to make it a better place for future classes," Johnson added. "In my opinion, you grew up at that moment."
During the ceremony, the principal singled out 56 honor students that maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher throughout their high school years. He then applauded six co-valedictorians that graduated last week with flawless 4.0 grade point averages. Among these students was Jenna Knutson, who graduated a full year ahead of schedule.
This graduating class is simply an unforgettable, timeless group of students that left a lasting impression on the teachers, leaders and others at Mountain Home High School, said valedictorian Rainier Barrett.
"The Class of 2011 is full of totally unique people, each with his or her own stories, views and plans for the future," Barrett said. "The one thing that sets us apart from the others is our individuality as well as our acceptance of each other's personalities."
"Everyone has realized that we really aren't much different," said valedictorian Rachel Warila. "This year, we've gotten rid of the silly labels like the 'band geek' or the 'football player' and replaced them with one we all fit into -- the Class of 2011."
"We've all bonded together as a class and... there's no one I'd rather spend my last summer with than the Class of 2011," Warila added.
Meanwhile, valedictorian Jalen Gibbons asked his fellow graduates what they should do with all the knowledge they've accumulated over the past 12 years. His response: Continue to learn.
"We press on and challenge ourselves to learn more," Gibbons said. "Be it through college or career, we (will) experience new things, constantly building on the foundation we established here."
Gibbons also urged his fellow students to thank the parents, teachers and others that helped them complete their journey last week.
"We should do anything in our means to thank and support those who build the foundations of each successful generation," he said. "May we never forget where we came from (and) let us be the ones that choose where we go."
Looking back, valedictorian Jessica Richelieu compared each moment over the past four years of high school as pieces of an interlocking puzzle that led up to Friday's graduation.
"We all have different pieces that make up our puzzle," she said.
"Some of the pieces we placed strategically, some fit together by magic and others just plain didn't fit (but) everyone's puzzle is unique and beautiful in its own way."
Friday marked the day when the Class of 2011 solved one puzzle with each student ready to start on another, Richelieu said.
"All the effort we put into the last 12 years of school is now finally paying off," she added. "They never said it was going to be easy; they just said it was going to be worth it."
Looking back, Warila considered last week's ceremony a testament to the seemingly endless time and effort each student invested during their high school career.
"All the hard work for advanced classes, all the studying and writing for dual-credit college class, all the hours of homework that we all can admit we would rather have spent doing something else, all of this pays off right now," she said.