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The month of May marked a turning point in the lives of the senior class of 2015. Buena Vista's four schools are proud of the young people they helped prepare for adulthood.

May 23 saw the graduation of the largest class Buena Vista High School has yet produced with 69 graduates, one of whom finished back in December. According to BVHS records, the class of '15 was so large that a teacher had to be added to each grade as it progressed through the school system.

Not only did the class out-do previous ones numerically, but they're also shining bright as they head into their next stage of life.

"We have an extremely high percentage of seniors heading to secondary school this year--77 percent, up from an average of around 65 percent in past years," registrar Zina Workman noted.

BVHS also has three young men heading into the military. Zachary Barfoot has enlisted in the Army, Nathan Rivale has joined the Marines, and Michael Goetsch is in the process of Marine enlistment.

Besides those heading off to 4-year colleges, three seniors will be attending cosmetology school, four are going directly into the workforce, and seven are as yet undecided.

Brian Yates, BVHS principal, was very pleased with this group of students, individually and as a whole. "The class' chosen motto for the year was 'All is grace,' and they really defined that -- not only in academics, but also in athletics and in everything they did."

Eleven students graduated from Chaffee County High School May 20 at Silver Cliff Ranch. Almost all of them will be attending college in the future, even if not right away, while Tim Montez will be taking flight lessons to become a commercial pilot and Brook McFarland is joining the Marines.

The courses of study CCHS grads plan on pursuing vary from design and esthetics to computer science, mathematics, criminal justice, and herbology and reflexology. After finding his stride at CCHS, Jesse Haro has found his passion in education reform.

Each of the seniors had to complete a service learning requirement in order to graduate. These involved a wide range of ideas.

Tim Montez and Phillip Musso built a wooden half-pipe behind the CCHS building, while Jesse Haro formed and presided over a Jr. Optimist Club at the school. Angel Accaira created care packages for military personnel, which she filled with donations she received from Buena Vista businesses. Chris Colvin developed a recycling program for the school, and Michael Naegele installed a basketball hoop on CCHS property.

Maude Perschbacher created a Peer Mediation Group by getting a specialist from Restorative Justice to train a group of volunteer students in the techniques of peer mediation. Austin Argueso-Nott took charge of the food backpack program, overseeing the creation of a website and online form for it. Brook McFarland got CDOT to begin flagpole installation at their facilities in Chaffee County, and Lindsey Laskowski built a sensory trail at Mini-Blessings for autistic and sensory-deprived people utilizing the miniature horse facility.

For her project, Alyssa Hallett improved CCHS's work experience credit. Guided by her own experience and that of her peers, she added content and options for students. Though this year's seniors didn't get to avail themselves of it, at least one acknowledged that the redesign makes it harder, although more valuable at the same time.

Principal Mike Post was very happy with this year's class. "They all came to CCHS for different reasons and with different goals, but despite that there was some of the best teamwork, camaraderie, and collaboration I've seen in a number of years."

At Darren Patterson Christian Academy, three of the four seniors culminated their high school careers with a 12-day trip to Nicaragua, where they worked with Amos Health and Hope to help families install water filters in remote villages.

All four young people will be attending college or university in the fall. Elijah 'Hawk' White will study agricultural and business management, Joel Parker intends to major in mechanical engineering, and Seth Turner is pursuing business administration. Grace Horvath is still deciding what she'll be studying at Western State Colorado University.

DPCA administrator Erik Ritschard called the senior class a "Great group of young adults. Everyone here was really excited to work with them. I could go on and on."

Four more young people graduated from the Link School May 30. All four are college-bound, though Clara Oyer is deferring her CSU enrollment in order to work with the horses at Adventure Unlimited next year. Her twin, Emma Oyer, is going straight into the CSU equine program. Astrid List will begin study at Denver University in the fall, while Sam Davis will attend the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus.

"The highlight of the year at Link was an international trip to Guatemala in January where students explored 'the hero's journey' and what it means to discover your calling and live your life in fulfillment of your unique gifts and abilities," Link director Bobby Lewis said.

Scholarships, honors and awards were in abundance for the class of '15. At DPCA, Joel Parker was valedictorian and Grace Horvath, Joel Parker and Hawk White each graduated with honors.

Parker also received a NewBees scholarship and the David K. Akers Servanthood Scholarship. White received an Optimist Club scholarship.

CCHS saw NewBees scholarships awarded to Nancy Maude Perschbacher, Austin Argueso-Not, and Christopher Colvin. A Rotary Club scholarship went to Lindsey Laskowski.

BVHS counselor Jeanne Shane lauded over the achievements of the senior class.

"What a great group of seniors this has been, 17 students with over a 4.0 GPA. That's 25 prcent of our senior class, and 41 percent with a 3.5 GPA or higher," Shane said. "Overall, these were always a very hard working, responsible group of students. This effort shows not only in their GPA's, but in their efforts as volunteers and humanitarians."

She also noted no students dropped out of school. In fact, the last time was 2012.

Shane said that this year saw the greatest number of scholarship applications submitted in any year to date. Local and state scholarships alone awarded to this class total $112,150.

On top of this, 22 students were awarded merit scholarships from colleges and universities, 20 made the National Honor Society, and three - Mylinda Fischer, Natalie Zwingers and Kaitlynn Workman - made the National Art Honor Society. Four seniors will be playing collegiate athletics, Gillian Franklin, Kenneth Schell, John Lopez and Trevor Close.

For the first time this year, alongside the top two academic spots, additional recognition was given to all seniors with high scholastic achievement.

The designations c** laude, magna sum laude, and summa c** laude were given to those with GPAs of 3.5 - 3.79, 3.8 - 3.99, and 4.0 and higher respectively. Eight students graduated c** laude, three earned magna c** laude, and 17 achieved summa c** laude status. Ethan Greiner was named valedictorian and Kyli Doke was salutatorian.

Shane's enthusiasm didn't end with the academic success of the class. "Personality wise, they were a fun group. They were a nice mixture of real individuals," she said. "I'm going to miss them and I hope they stay in touch. Good luck graduates. You'll accomplish great things."

http://www.chaffeecountytimes.com/free_content/class-of-is-off-and-running/article_0dbc1842-0a18-11e5-8a68-c7a8d33d6a30.html