Ephrata class of 2012 graduates

EPHRATA - Family members were carefully scanning the field as the class of 2012, to the strains of "Pomp and Circumstance," waited their turn to walk to their seats:

"There he is! There he is! Yay, Cody," yelled Mom.

A short distance away, a grandmother welcomed a young couple maneuvering a baby stroller. She wasn't sure the couple would make it, Grandma said.

"Are you kidding? We wouldn't miss this for anything. We're so proud of her," the young man said.

Cheers, tears, pride, a sense of accomplishment and nostalgia were among the dominant emotions in the crowd and the class as graduating seniors said goodbye to Ephrata High School Friday night.

Students lined up to walk by two and threes between rows of chairs, and everybody had a different pose for the official photographer once they got there - some pumped a fist in triumph, some flashed a sign of victory, some settled for a hug and a thumb's-up. Air horns whooped and parents and friends yelled encouragement.

"All right, Morgan," came a voice from the crowd.

Kelsey Yenney and Associated Student Body President Fidel Bazan were the class speakers.

"This is the day we've been waiting for for so long," Bazan said. There were 173 seniors in the class of 2012, all of them different, yet with experiences in common, he said. They were all a little scared as freshmen, discovered they had to study for junior classes and couldn't wing it, endured state achievement tests, worked on senior projects. Graduation is a night for remembering the past, he said, but graduation is the present, and the class of 2012 is moving into the future.

They will make mistakes and will face challenges but, Bazan said, he's convinced they have the tools for success.

The class of 2012 had its own unique experiences, Bazan said. "We are family and we always will be."

Yenney said the class of 2012 was well-known before and during high school and will be long remembered. "The teachers, administrators and upperclassmen were warned about us. We've been called immature by kids younger than us," she said.

But her classmates were independent and proved they had the skills and the drive, she said, citing the track team's recent state championship and the volleyball team's return to state after a decade. "We know how to get work done," she said.

"Personally, I think we're stinkin' awesome," Yenney said.

She challenged her classmates to make something of themselves and thank the people that helped them along the way. She thanked them herself. "These kids are my brothers, my sisters, my family," she said. "You've made high school one heck of a ride."

Math teacher Michelle Ramirez was chosen by the class as the faculty speaker.

"You all taught me the meaning of herding cats," she said. But she had first-hand knowledge of the students' generosity when they rallied around her while her son was stationed in the Middle East, she said.

She told the students to set goals and find ways to reach them, go for a career they liked, learn from their mistakes and forgive others for theirs, embrace life and enjoy their experiences.

And as Ephrata High School Principal Dan Martell read off the names and the students walked down the track, the stands again erupted with air horns, applause and cheers of encouragement.

"You rock, Megan!"

"Good job, Miguel!"

"All right, Wyman!"

"Way to go, Renee!"

After the last student went back to his seat, diploma in hand, and graduation had ended with the traditional method of throwing caps in the air, family and friends mingled with graduates on the field. They brought gifts and balloons and had cameras in hand, and tears flowed freely.