Desert Oasis High School seniors persevere

OTHELLO — Valedictorian Michelle Torres summed it up after the Desert Oasis High School class of 2023 had received their diplomas. “Start of a new day, you know?” she said. The 29 seniors officially finished school, five of them through a SkillSource program, in a ceremony June 5. In her valedictory speech, Torres said she knew it hadn’t been easy for her classmates. But they had done it nonetheless. “As for those who have cut us down, made us feel less of ourselves, and told us we weren’t getting far, look at us now. We are graduating, and this is just the beginning,” she said.