Celebrating the class of 2005

348 students graduate from Moses Lake High School

MOSES LAKE — Three hundred and forty-eight students and their 348 challenges and goals came to a culminating point Thursday as Moses Lake High School seniors received their diplomas.

Looking back on the last four years, there is much to celebrate and remember.

For senior Ryan Mahaney, he will remember the Mr. Moses Lake Pageant and his infamous ribbon dance; for Alyssa Derricott, it will be late nights at football games and favorite teachers; and for Casey Shearer, it will be playing racquet ball and going squirrel hunting with friend and fellow graduate Becky Bertram.

When times got tough due to the loss of a loved one or just trying to stay on top of school work, finding the support of family and friends are what have kept these 2005 graduates focused.

"I appreciate everything they do for me," Shearer said of her family.

In retrospect, senior Brady Coulston found some of his toughest times when faced with making decisions about what he wanted for himself personally and academically.

"Being assertive, knowing what you want," Coulston said is often the hardest challenge of all.

At Thursday's ceremony, students were not the only ones reminiscing about the last four years.

As parents Irene and Torivio Valdez anticipated watching their daughter, Sara, walk across the stage to graduate, they were filled with words of praise.

Sara, the fourth out of five children, has overcome many obstacles, Irene said.

In between going to school full time, working and being the only one of her siblings to graduate with honors, the Valdez family is proud.

What they want for their daughter now, is to make the most of her time at Big Bend Community College next year.

"We're honored that the community has backed her up," Irene said.

Seated below and across from the Valdez family, mother Lynne Sherfey reflects on her son Nate, who she describes as quiet but known to have "a wicked sense of humor."

"A lot of ups and downs," Sherfey said of Nate's high school experience. "This is definitely an up."

But to get to this point, Sherfey has worked to constantly instill values of discipline and lots of love into her son's life.

For father Cleon Claassen, whose daughter Rebecca is one of MLHS's top ten students, the last four years have been fun and rewarding.

"Outgoing, fun-loving, very willing to learn," Claassen described his daughter.

Even as a young child, Claassen can't remember a time when Rebecca wasn't reading books or looking for new opportunities to learn.

With more than 60 honor students with a 3.5 grade point average or higher and dozens of scholarship recipients, graduates praise their class for setting the bar high this school year.

"Every person in this class is unique in their own way," Mahaney said.

Dreams of being doctors, professional dancers and military personnel fill the heads of the class of 2005 at MLHS.

"People are going places," senior Maria Hamm said.