Seniors from North Summit High School and South Summit High School dressed in their graduation gowns Thursday for commencement ceremonies held at the two schools. The graduating class of 2012 at North Summit includes 81 students. South Summit High School has 97 graduates this year.

According to South Summit High School Principal Gary Twitchell, he’s watched the students grow up during their high school careers.

“It’s hard to say goodbye because I’ve had these kids since they were freshmen. This is really a tight-knit, hardworking group,” Twitchell said. “They are extremely diligent in everything they’ve tried to do. You couldn’t ask for a better group of kids.”

The group of seniors is academically sound, he said, adding that 10 students earned academic all-state recognition this year.

“If you look at the combination of the graduation rate and their tests in math and science and language arts, we are ranked the fourth highest school in the state. That’s quite an accomplishment,” he said, adding that the students were also awarded more than $1 million in scholarship money.

“This is really tremendous based on the fact that we don’t have a lot of graduates, and for 97 kids that’s a lot of money,” he said, adding that the students also participated in several fundraisers and service projects for classmates who experienced tragedies during the year.

South Summit High School senior class president Bailey Howard spoke to her peers during commencement exercises on Thursday. In an interview with The Park Record, Howard said she related her speech to a quote by Nelson Mandela, who says, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”

Howard said she talked a little bit about senioritis, but mostly moving forward and the importance of learning. Howard plans to attend Utah State University in the fall with several of her high school classmates.

From Howard’s commencement speech:

“Part of me doesn’t want to graduate because I want to stay here…. Friends, family, safety, routine, but I know that life has to go on, because it will change. The challenge is to not be afraid of the future, and to use the past to navigate it. I sincerely loved this school and everyone in it, but I am excited for the future.”

Howard said the class also dedicated a song called “The Winds of Change” to their late classmate, Michael Griffin, who passed away in eighth-grade.

“We feel it is important to honor him, because this would have been his graduation, too, and he is missed by everyone. ‘The Winds of Change’ was actually the song that our choir director in eighth-grade, Mrs. Clegg, had us sing the day after he died, hoping to make us cheer up a little or just make us think.”

North Summit High School also held its graduation ceremony on Thursday in the school’s auditorium. According to North Summit High School counselor Lance Pace, this years senior class is one of the school’s larger classes. North Summit’s valedictorian is Darby Richins, and JR Hellander is the salutatorian.

Pace said several students plan to attend the University of Utah, Utah State University and several small colleges in Utah. The senior class invited former North Summit High School Principal Jerre Holmes to speak at the ceremony.

“I’m completely honored that they would ask me to be their speaker, I really am,” Holmes said. “After 13 years they are finally here. And they have plenty to worry about. We have a down-turning economy right now and they will face some challenges. On average every person faces about three crises each year and how they handle that and how they deal with difficulty will point out how they deal with those challenges. But life is still filled with opportunities and we can choose to open that window or close that window.”

Holmes said that several years ago it became a tradition that he write a poem and read it to the senior class during the graduation ceremony. An excerpt from Holmes’ poem called “The Power of a Feather.”

“I wish you peace on your journey through life,

Land like the feather and search out your flight,

I’ll always remember you in all you have done,

You’ve left your mark here; go leave a new one.”

Check out The Park Record website at www.swiftcharge.net to view photos from North and South Summit’s graduation ceremonies and the graduating class of 2012.