Ready To Make The Future Bright

DAYTON -- The 131st class to graduate from Dayton High School recessed from the gym and into the rest of their lives on Saturday with thousands of dollars in scholarship money in hand and an upbeat Kenny Chesney country song filling the room.

Valedictorian Carter Currin said any bad moments in high school were ultimately tiny blips on the radar and many happier moments await the group.

"We, the class of 2012, are ready to make that future bright," salutatorian Keisha Phillips said.

The future does look bright for several students who left with a hundred thousand dollars in scholarships individually, the largest individual scholarship going to Currin to the tune of $13,000, on top of what he had already earned.

National Honor Society member and honor graduate Colleen Delp said she applied for every scholarship she could hoping to reduce the cost of college when she leaves for Washington State University in August. She managed 12 scholarships, but still hopes to do work study.

"It feels good to be done," Delp said.

She said she hopes to spend the summer working and taking family trips as a close to her 13 years in Dayton.

The 31-student graduating class of 2012 was announced by class president Hayden Fullerton as having six members of the National Honor Society. Those students all also were honor graduates, achieving a GPA of 3.5 or above.

Honor Graduates:

Carter Currin

Keisha Phillips

Colleen Delp

Anita Jackson

Nichole Lambert

Joseph Schlachter

class song:

"I Go Back" by Kenny Chesney

class flower:

the lily

class motto:

"Our lives are before us, our pasts are behind us, but our memories are forever with us" by an unknown author