“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

Class Motto:

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"

- Unknown author

DAYTON - Graduation ceremonies are typically solemn occasions steeped in tradition and pomp, so the audience was at first star- tled, then delighted when the entire Dayton High School class of 2013 started singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" during salutatorian Samantha Harting's commencement speech. Harting was describing various shared memories of the class that, for the most part, has been together since kindergarten.

"I had asked a couple of classmates to start singing when I made the reference to the song, but they were quiet at first," said Harting. "I gave then 'a look,' and thankfully everyone started singing."

That unexpected bit of youthful exuberance helped set the tone for the two hour long afternoon ceremony in the comfortably warm high school gymnasium on Saturday.

After acknowledging her friendly academic rivalry with valedictorian Malia Frame, Harting went on to challenge her classmates to break out of their comfort zones, be open to new ideas, put down their phones oc- casionally, and enjoy the world around them and em- brace high school as a sort of grace period in their life, not the highlight.

Valedictorian Malia Frame encouraged her classmates to believe in themselves and their dreams by quoting swimmer and Olympian gold medalist Michael Phelps.

"So many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can't be done. But all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits." Frame graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was one of three honor graduates in the class.

The graduation ceremony was embellished by two musical performances. The High School Choir sang pop-singer Colbie Caillat's "Brighter than the Sun," before band director Scott Carson led the band in a piece entitled "Largo."

The second half of the ceremony was dominat- ed by the presentation of awards and scholarships. The class of 2013 received a total of $117,000 in scholar- ships and awards, many of them local in origin.

Samantha Harting re- ceived $25,000, which in- cluded a $12,584 GEM scholarship from Boise State University, where she plans to study kinesiology in the fall. Malia Frame made multiple trips to the podium to receive scholarships and awards, which totaled $23,500. Frame plans to attend WSU in the fall and study business.

Honor student and class president Jessica Tate re- ceived $12,525. Kane Hack- ett accepted $5,850. He plans to study criminal justice. Dakota Hayes, Court- ney Fuller, Chris Conley, Andre' Fayette, Chelsea Martin, Wyatt Frame and Nathan Roughton also received various scholarships and awards. A complete list of scholarships and amounts can be found on Page 8.

Following the presenta- tion of awards, Jessica Tate called out the name of each graduating senior as they received their diploma from School Board Chair Steve Martin. After the traditional cap toss, the class exited the gym with their class song, "Where I Come From" by Montgomery Gentry playing in the background.