Seniors Honored By PEO Sorority

DAYTON -- Two Dayton High School seniors were recognized Thursday, May 17, for their commitment to the community with the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) Citizenship Award.

Colleen Delp and Joey Schlachter are both active at Dayton High School as well as in the community. Delp and Schlachter are both members of the Associated Student Body (ASB), Delp as public relations officer and Schlachter as the president. Both students are active in multiple sports, National Honors Society (NHS), Youth and Government as well as local community groups.

The P. E. O. citizenship award has been given to students annually since 1930.

The award is given to one male and one female student presented at a reception in their honor along with a $250 check which is presented at graduation, according to a press release from P.E.O.

Delp describes herself as a "typical girl" who loves shopping and hanging out with friends, but her accolades say otherwise. Delp is on the cheerleading squad and was the cheer captain. She is also a member of the softball team, which is heading to the WIAA state tournament in Yakima on Friday. Beyond sports, ASB and honor society, Delp is a student representative for the Dayton School Board, was a member of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council and has been singing and traveling with the Salt and Light youth choir in Waitsburg for six years.

After graduation, Delp will be attending Washington State University in the fall where she hopes to major in political science. After WSU, Delp plans to attend law school, possibly at Gonzaga University, in pursuit of a career as a lobbyist.

Schlachter has been on ASB for two years and is also a member of NHS as well as Youth and Government. He participates in a high school sport every season, baseball, basketball, football and summer basketball, and is also involved with the Blue Mountain Rocketeers.

During his free time, Schlachter enjoys working with computer hardware. After graduation, he will be attending Texas A&M University to study ocean engineering. He hopes to use an engineering degree after college in the Navy.

Receiving the award meant a lot to Schlachter, he said, because his sister received the same award when she was a senior at DHS.

The students received their citizenship awards at a reception held at the Delany Room in Dayton. The reception featured the students' achievements and the groups they have been involved with during their time at DHS. After the awards were presented, the students were all smiles as the attendees were served cake.