Noxon, Plains graduate seniors

SANDERS COUNTY – The Class of 2014 enjoyed their graduation today, emerging from school as newly minted graduates ready to take on life after high school.

In Plains, the graduation on Saturday May 25, drew a large crowd. The gymnasium was standing room only with bleachers and folded chairs almost completely full.

Daniel Damschen, a member of the Class of 2014, was the first speaker of the ceremony. Damschen welcomed the guests and congratulated his classmates before handing it off to the graduation speaker, Tony Banovich, assistant coach of the Plains track and field team.

Banovich emphasized what a privilege it had been to spend time with the 25 graduates, noting the competitive spirit in athletics and academics. The graduation speaker then asked for the lights to be dimmed and the audience to direct their attention to the projector screen, where a 2014 class slide show was played.

Following the completion of the slide show Banovich introduced the valedictorians for the class of 2014.

As it turns out this year’s graduating class fielded three valedictorians, each with a 4.0 grade point average.

Those three students Corle Morefield, Tia Thompson and Keely Benson, each gave a short speech.

Morefield opened up the string of speeches, embracing the uniqueness of each member of the class of 2014.

“We are all different in our own way, life would be so boring if we were all the same,” Morefield said.

The valedictorians then stepped aside and salutatorian, Nicole Rehbein gave her own speech congratulating her peers on their accomplishments.

The presentation of the class of 2014 ensued shortly thereafter, with each graduate receiving their diploma.

This year’s Plains class graduated 25 seniors, 18 of which will move on to post-secondary education, six graduates will enter the workforce and one student will enlist in the military.

Noxon also held their graduation ceremonies on Sunday, sending off 16 seniors onto the next chapter of their life.

Noxon Superintendent Josh Patterson started the ceremony off by both thanking the students for all of their work and then thanking the veterans in the room for coming on Memorial Day weekend. Kaylin Baird, 2014’s salutatorian gave an emotional speech to her classmates.

“This is a great honor and I’m very thankful for receiving it,” Baird said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for the many amazing people in my life.”

From there, Baird thanked her family, friends and most importantly, her classmates for the times they had together.

Valedictorian Kathryn Chandler then took to the stage for her speech, thanking many of her classmates by name. As she thanked those that have made the last four years great,

Chandler teared up, showing her sincerest thanks.

“To the Class of 2014, I wish you the best of luck in whatever direction you choose,” Chandler said.

After guest speakers John Mark Onofrey and Kent Neal offered their words of wisdom to the students, the group was presented with awards and scholarships. Fifteen of the sixteen students received the honors, with Chandler leading the bunch with over $19,000 awarded.

This year the Class of 2014 will be advancing 25 percent of their class into the military. Once the students were recognized, the lights were dimmed for a video presentation.

Each student had their time on the screen with pictures depicting their transformation into the graduate they have became.

After the diplomas were handed out, the ceremony concluded, sending each student off to start their journey into the real world.

Although the ceremonies ended one chapter in their lives, the new graduates now have many more chapters to look forward to.