St. Regis High holds ceremony for graduates
<p>Dallas Lewis, Keenan Clute, Blaze White and Damen Lucier enter the gym and make their way to the stage. </p>
ST. REGIS - Eight St. Regis seniors graduated from the school gym Memorial Day weekend, a place they have called home for at least four years.
On May 25, each graduate walked across the stage for the last time. Despite a bittersweet occasion, there was an additional reason to celebrate.
Fourteen scholarships were presented to some of the graduates by community members and faculty. The lowest amount given was $500 and the highest amount was $22,500.
Dallas Lewis received at least nine of the honors, many coming from the University of Montana where he will continue his education. He was also awarded part of the Gear Up Pathways Scholarship worth $22,500. Other students honored for the Gear Up Scholarship were Keenan Clute and Arianna Jones.
Clute received six other scholarships of his own which will be used to make a dent in his tuition at the University of Montana.
Some of the scholarships were donated on behalf of many Mineral County organizations and volunteer groups. Among the donators, the Mineral County Community Foundation and the St. Regis Community Council.
Principal Brent Nice started the ceremony with a speech.
“These students must now face their future individually, although we feel like we have prepared them adequately,” Nice said.
Then came the speeches by the class president, salutatorian and valedictorian on behalf of the class of 2014.
“We have learned our strengths and weaknesses as a class on our own,” said Fina Lizardi, class president.
Clute captivated the crowd during his salutatorian speech with his humorous style. While drawing many laughs, Clute said what he thought of his class.
“I would give this class the title, the working class,” Clute said. “That’s because this class is not afraid to get down and dirty.”
Lewis, valedictorian, gave an emotional speech thanking his parents, especially his mom who he said he was lucky to have.
Before the diplomas were presented, the graduates relived their childhood with a photo slideshow of their lives up until now.
After the former students left the stage with their diplomas, those in attendance were invited to partake in refreshments while congratulating the graduates.