{"id":27479,"date":"2024-05-26T14:20:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-26T20:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/from-covid-to-commencement-dolores-graduates-36\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T00:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:02:02","slug":"from-covid-to-commencement-dolores-graduates-36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/from-covid-to-commencement-dolores-graduates-36\/","title":{"rendered":"From COVID to commencement: Dolores graduates 36"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dolores
Dolores graduates toss their hats in the air as the end of the graduation Thursday evening.
\nSam Green\/Special to The Journal<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Beginning high school often studying from home while a viral scourge circulated outside, and spending her final three years at home because of unrelenting medical conditions, Analisa Vega walked into Dolores High School Gymnasium Thursday, later stepped onto the stage to speak as valedictorian, then reascended it barely two minutes later as the first to receive a diploma from Principal Justin Schmitt.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she exited the packed gym the same way she\u2019d entered, personifying the dedication and resolve educators hoped to encourage from the 36 departing seniors of the Class of 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Valedictorian
Valedictorian Analisa Vega speaks at the Dolores High School graduation Thursday evening.
\nSam Green\/Special to The Journal<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Class
Class president Kayla Tallmadge gives her speech air the Dolores High School graduation Thursday evening.
\nSam Green\/Special to The Journal<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Salutatorian
Salutatorian Brooklyn Lee gives her speech for the Dolores High School graduation Thursday evening.
\nSam Green\/Special to The Journal<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Layne
Layne Hedgren sings the national anthem for the Dolores High School graduation Thursday evening.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Sam Green\/Special to The Journalcca<\/span>\n

\"Dylan
Dylan Koskie is congratulated as he marches in for the Dolores High School graduation Thursday evening.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Sam Green\/Special to The Journalcca<\/span>\n

\"Keynote
Keynote speaker Mrs. Karen Finch addresses the Dolores High School graduates Thursday evening.
\nSam Green\/Special to The Journal<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"At
At the urging of the keynote speaker, Dolores graduates put on red noses to remind them not to take life too seriously.
\nSam Green\/Special to The Journal<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A standing room only crowds filled the gym for the Dolores High School graduation Thursday evening.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Sam Green\/Special to The Journalcca<\/span>\n<\/p>

\u201cMy high school experience, like most of yours, was not easy. One major challenge that I faced was with my health. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof; I became very sick \u2013 the incurable, probably-forever kind of sick,\u201d Vega said during her speech. \u201cIt was during my sophomore year that became my life, and from that point forward I could no longer attend school in person, and my world has been falling apart. I felt like a failure, and a lot of the time I still do; most of my dreams were no longer possible, and every ounce of my energy was being poured into my schoolwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYet I was constantly being told I wasn\u2019t trying hard enough, or that I was faking all my struggles. As you might imagine, this takes its toll after a while; there were so many days that I wanted so desperately to give up on it all. But I didn\u2019t. And even through all the adversity that you all have faced, neither have any of you. And for that I am so deeply proud of both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and I are part of this horrible \u2013 and wonderful \u2013 thing called life, and like many of you know, it often isn\u2019t kind; it has a habit of putting you in situations \u2026 beyond your control,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that demands an important \u2013 and often misunderstood \u2013 feeling called \u2018hope.\u2019 And it is what you do with it that defines your success; so far, for me, hope has manifested in ways as great as this achievement and as small as starting another day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lasting roughly 75 minutes from start to applause-heavy finish, commencement concluded DHS\u2019 2023-24 school year and began with senior Layne Hedgren singing \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner.\u201dSuperintendent Dr. Reece Blincoe then welcomed all in attendance and spoke first to the soon-to-be graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take things in stride,\u201d he said. \u201cJimmy Buffett said that \u2018I can\u2019t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to (always reach my destination).\u2019 I tell you, when the wind\u2019s blowing you off course, adjust your sails to get to where you want to go. Know your target, know where you want to go and go there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmitt then passed the microphone to four-year class president Kayla Tallmadge, who in her speech emphasized embracing life\u2019s lighter moments and perpetually seeking them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may know that our class voted the theme song for (the 2006 animated film) \u2018Curious George\u2019 as our official class song,\u201d she said, referring to Jack Johnson\u2019s well-known \u2018Upside Down.\u2019 \u201cTo finish off my own little tangent, a piece of knowledge from \u2018Curious George\u2019 is: Even the smallest acts of mischief can lead to the biggest adventures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wish is that every single person in this auditorium will cling on to their childlike spirit and make time to live like the chaotic little cartoon monkey, whose adventures we grew up admiring from the couch \u2013 in our superhero, dinosaur or princess pajamas,\u201d Tallmadge continued. \u201cFrom now on, instead of being serious, may every moment of your future be filled with adventure, excitement, want and, of course, curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Known to most of the Class of 2024 from as far back as kindergarten. Karen Finch delivered the ceremony\u2019s keynote address, before her words set in during a music-accompanied, then-and-now photo slideshow of those about to receive their sheepskins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned that curiosity can lead you to the truth,\u201d she said, after a short story about her time volunteering at the Oregon School for the Deaf and learning sign language \u2013 once to the amusement of a passerby observing her practice the gestures, but to the amazement of another.<\/p>\n

\u201cJudgment implies you know everything and shuts the door, but curiosity conveys humility and the possibility that maybe you don\u2019t know the whole story. I hope as you go through your life, you lead with curiosity. And as you embrace this change, I hope you can look past yourself and see others. You don\u2019t have to say the right things in hard times; instead, just try \u2018How can I help?\u2019 Our world has urgent issues, and reaching out to help others could change lives, even yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a song by Rascal Flatts called \u2018How They Remember You.\u2019 This song has a lot of meaning to me today,\u201d Brooklyn Lee said in her subsequent salutatorian address \u2013 preceding Vega\u2019s and the moment all most eagerly awaited. \u201cThe song states: \u2018Signed a bunch of high school yearbooks\/ So they wouldn\u2019t forget about me\/ It wasn\u2019t \u2018til I saw my daddy\u2019s name in stone, I knew\/ It ain\u2019t a question of if they will\/ It\u2019s how they remember you.\u2019 It is important for all of us to think about what kind of impact and legacy we want to leave behind, in everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLife can be hard, but life is all about what we make of it,\u201d she stated. \u201cChoose to be a leader, not a follower. Do what is right, not popular. Always be kind. Follow your dreams no matter what. Work hard in everything, and have strong values. As Dolly Parton says, \u2018Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.\u2019 Class of 2024, let\u2019s go out into this world and be change-makers. It is our time to shine!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

The Class of 2024<\/h4>\n

Graduates: Austin Anderson, Leon Becker, Janae Boyd, Dillon Brengle, Kylee Burt, Joshua Carpenter, Kelter Christenson, Darwin Cooper, Tayler Cooper, Nevaeh DeHerrera, Kayla Edwards, Matthew Englert, Lillie Faught, Ty Gaddis, Brody Gottman, Layne Hedgren, William Isaman, Dylan Koskie, Jordan Lansing, Brooklyn Lee, Ashlyn Mikkelson, Ryan Muff, Mark Palate, Tearah Philpott, Mikayla Puett, Jonathan Purkat, Aidan Pym, Lara Rimbert, Avery Stiegelmeyer, Kayla Tallmadge, Zachary Taylor, Analisa Vega, Finity Velasquez, James Willett, Ethin Williford, Julian Winslow. Sponsore: Jessica Bloise, Jessica Kuntz, Allyson CookClass color: PinkClass flower: TulipClass motto: \u2018When life shuts a door, open it. That\u2019s how doors work.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2024 graduates 36 inside packed gym<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-27479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80072,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27479\/revisions\/80072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27479"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=27479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}