Janet Solis-Lara, one of three student speakers and one of the 56 graduates, stated the obvious when she said “we made it” during Pioneer High School’s commencement ceremony on Tuesday in front of an overflow crowd at the Carson City Community Center’s Bob Boldrick Theater.
But Solis-Lara echoed the obvious point made by one of the other student speakers, Jordan Mix, that while it seemed like the end, it was just the beginning. Solis-Lara encouraged her fellow graduates to “keep striving and become a better version of ourselves.”
Karissa Kleine, the first student speaker, encouraged the students to reach for their dreams, saying “I want to see everyone make that choice in the future.”
Solis-Lara also echoed the point made by Kleine, to make the right choices. “Be careful and make wise choices,” Solis-Lara said.
Kleine also admitted she thought high school was going to be a “full-time party with our friends,” but learned to realize it was much more than that.
She talked about the closeness she developed with her fellow graduates, saying the memories they shared they will have “for a lifetime. Our friends have turned into family.”
Kleine also admitted high school was “the most difficult time of our lives.” But she also thanked the Pioneer High staff, saying she could go to them any time she needed them.
In addition, Mix talked about the adversity she overcame, saying she had been in nine foster homes. Mix also talked about just getting through the monotony of going to school for 12 years day after day.
“I’ve been through a lot these last few years,” she said. But through it all, Mix added, “I’ve learned nothing is impossible.”
And while the student speakers talked about the difficulties, Solis-Lara also described the experience at Pioneer as a joyous time. She summed up her feelings on the graduation being an ending and a beginning when she said, “It feels so surreal.”
Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes also gave the students some advice, telling them to do three things:
Find something to do; find someone to love; and find something to hope for.
This year’s graduating class earned $124,000 in scholarships and awards, a record for Pioneer. Among the schools graduates from this year’s class plan to attend include the University of Nevada, Reno, Lake Tahoe Community College, Sierra Academy of Style, Truckee Meadows Community College, UNLV and Western Nevada College.
Also introduced were the Valedictorian Emma Molnar and Kailee Minnis, the salutatorian.
About half of the class graduated with some kind of honors. They either graduated with an honors diploma, advanced diploma, college and career ready certificate, a Millennium Scholarship, a Career and Technical Education diploma or as Jobs for American Graduates. Many of the students graduated with multiple honors.
Graduate Alyxandra Perry has also already earned her Associates of Arts degree from WNC through the Jump Start Program.
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