Alex Paul
No matter how much money one makes, or how far they travel from Sweet Home, members of the SHHS graduating Class of 2004 were reminded Friday evening that it is relationships that are the most important things in their lives.
Those relationships are with their fellow classmates, their families and with their God, class leaders and keynote speakers emphasized.
Balmy weather greeted the class on their last formal evening together before they set off on their various journeys through life. Rain held off until early Saturday morning, a couple hours before the Senior Alcohol Free Entertainment party ushered graduates out the door.
Salutatorian Mallory Carlson said that although some of her classmates are eager to move to a city, she has found life in Sweet Home to be very rewarding.
“Sweet Home is more than just a home for me,” she said. “There are so many small town benefits. To receive a phone call from someone with a kind word after a ball game…or to see your name or photo in the local newspaper. To be told when I came back from Japan, by people I hardly knew, that they were praying for me while I was gone.”
The trek won’t be easy or heartache free, she said.
Co-valedictorian Megan Snow said her classmates will enter their new lives with excitement, fear and anticipation.
“Tonight is the end of something unforgettable but the start of something even greater,” Snow said.
Co-valedictorian Emily Coulter said “things will change drastically for us after tonight. We’ve been here for each other since our first day at Sweet Home Junior High.”
She talked after the progression of the class through high school from their first dance as freshmen to scholarship applications as seniors.
She urged the Class of 2004 to “look to the future with an open mind.”
A pair of former teachers, Ken Roberts from the Sweet Home Junior High and Ed Nieman from SHHS, were keynote speakers for the evening and both reinforced the importance of relationships for the graduates.
Roberts, in a both humorous and emotional interaction with the students, talked about how much each of them meant to him as former students and during the past year of covering their sports activities for The New Era.
He said it is important for the students to develop a personal and lasting relationship with God if they are to be truly successful in life.
He added that although some might think their educational journey was ending, in truth, it is just beginning.
“School’s never out in real life,” Roberts said. “The good news is that more and more, you will be the person in charge of your education and you will get to evaluate your own performance.”
Roberts challenged the students to focus on six key points in developing their lives.
1. Who are you? Will you lead a life that causes others to think positive thoughts when they see or hear your name?
2. In what do you believe? What do you stand for in good times or bad? Unless your belief system is based on God’s truths, you will be swayed by others, often without good intentions.
3. With whom do you want to spend your life? Will that person share your belief system and be pulling in the same direction?
4. Will you set an example for your children to follow? Will you devote time, your arms for hugging, your guidance and counseling to shape your children? Roberts said “quality time” may be a popular term but it is merely a substitute for not spending as much time as possible with children today. That must change, he said.
5. Who will be your friends and will they bolster you in good and bad times? Will they keep you on track when you start to veer away from God’s path.
6. What impact will you have on others? Will you sacrifice your desires for the sake of others? Will you be a servant to others and not a master as the Bible says?
“There are many people in this world who will tell you that you can’t do something,” Roberts said, “but God has given you many talents and I’m here to tell you that you can succeed.”
Former SHHS English instructor Ed Nieman said it was his relationship with his parents that helped him focus on his life goals.
“Come Monday, you will face new challenges, you will start on the bottom rung of the ladder,” Nieman said. “If you didn’t do well in high school, Monday, you get to wipe the slate clean. It’s an opportunity for you to do things you have always wanted to do.”
Nieman encouraged the class to “follow your heart and do what you want to do, not what others want you to do.”
But, he emphasized, you must have a road map to reach your goals and that road map must include a time table.
He recounted his own youth when he wasn’t goal oriented and spent a summer’s worth of earnings on a week-long trip with friends.
It was his father who told set him straight. Get back to school, go to the military or move out of the house and face the real world on your own.
Nieman said it was the best advice he ever receive, a wake up call to not just think about what he wanted out of life, but to put a plan in order to get there.
His life has been very successful, both personally with a loving wife and sons, as well as professionally, including coaching a state championship basketball team.
Dr. Larry Horton advised the graduates to ‘live life like you’re climbing a mountain, set your goals for the top, but along the way, take time to enjoy the view and to realize that the real journey is part of the treasure.”
SHHS Principal Pat Stineff said she hopes the class will be happy and successful but to especially be proud that they are graduates of Sweet Home High School.
SHHS Class of 2004
Anna Elizabeth Amundson
Ashley Nicole Andersen
Jenna Nichole Anderson
Matthew Thomas Barnes
Michael Scott Barnes
Bradley John Becker
Kristen Michelle Belveal
Zachary James Blatchley
Jared Louis Brennan
Lisa Michelle Brocard
Malcolm Owen Brown
Skyler Norlyn Brown
Shaina Marie Burnett
Mallory Brooke Carlson
RoseAnne Lynne Cheney
Donald Charles Cliver
Felicia Rachelle Cochran
Amy Lynn Collings
Tyler Lane Cooper
John Garland Corbin
Bryan David Corliss
Emily Yvonne Coulter
Katie Marie Crawford
Selena Marie Culley
Jason Rae Dearborn
DaJon Douglas DeMille
Sara Jean Derrickson
Jessica Lynn Diercks
William Alan Duncan II
Tyler John Emmert
Whan A. Erevia
Catherine Marie Fletcher
Jaderia Sarah Fowler
Ronnie Dwayne Lewis Garcia
Rachel Marie Gaskey
Kandice Lorall Gates
Blair D. Geil
Chad Alister Gibson
Cory Allen Gilroy
Sarah Tiffany Goodwin
Rebecca Elaine Doris Gorby
Seth Israel Graves
Kendra Kaitlin Greene
Sarah Marie Greene
Joshua Cody Hall
Tiffany Ann Hamn
Tyler Jon Hannen
Matthew Clinton Harkey
John Neil Hay III
Brett A. Hegge
Chelsea Elaine Hegge
Anne Katherine Helfrich
Tristan Dayle Hendrickson
Amanda Jean Hershberger
Jennifer Noel Hicks
Lonnie Shane Holt
Ashley Leann Horn
Richard Tyler Howe
Andree Wendel Hoxfeldt
Daniel P. Jeffreys
Brenda Lynn Johnson
Kenny-Michael Jones
Robert James Juza
Shayla Ann Kilgore
Joseph Alexander Kisselburgh
Paul William Kizer
Jebidia Dale Koechig
Thomas Sean Kohnke
Stephanie Lynn Kragness
Amber Dawn Larsen
Scott William Lawrence
Honey Rose Lawson
Chi Fong Lee
Michael James Levin
Loni Marie Lillich
Kevin Joel Loree
Aaron James Lovik
John Leonard Lovik II
Ian Robert Lynn
Andrea Suzanne Martin
Kimberly Rose Martin
Robert Michael Martin
Sean Michael Martin
Wayne Gilbert Martinez III
Keri Ann Marvin
Timothy Robert Matuszak
Chelsea Leanna McKeever
Amber Melody Meyers
Cody Michael Miller
Anthony Wayne Mink
Vance Coyle Monroe
Clinton Andrew Moran
Sarah Marie Moreland
Charles Grant Murray
William David Murray Jr.
Jessica Renee Myronenko
Kristopher Stone Norris
Jennifer Lynn Oberg
Lyle Ray Ogston
Kazuki Ogura
Cristo’bal Marcelo Ojeda
Ronak Patel
Joseph Ryan Patton
Adam Alan Pearson
Shawna Marie Petersen
Ryan Mark Phillips
Utahna Pike
Brandon Earl Porria
Shanna Ann Reagan
Mackenzie Ray Reynolds
Danielle Kathleen Rice
Kristien Nicole Rice
Samantha Anne Rice
Angela Marie Robertson
Lora Carmen Romandia
Tomas Penhiero Rosa
Ben L. Rowe
Cody Allen Sanders
Meaghan Rose Schaefer
Michael Gregory Severns
Sakurako Shimada
Susan E. Sieg
Andrew Wylie Slaght
Amber Maxine Smith
Ashley Ann Smith
Ashley Nichole Smith
Christopher Lyle Smith
Megan Lin Snow
Steven Jessey Stafford
Jeffery Daniel Stokes
Sebastian Paul Strickler
Jacob Russell Stumbough
Valerie Nicole Sutten
Sean Michael Swett
Siu Kuan Tam
Nicole Marie Trahan
Mayumi Uno
Jeremy Scott VanDijk
Ashley Dawn Villines
Amber Dawn Walker
Courtney Mae Walker
Joshua James Walker
Jacob Glen Weatherly
Heather Louise Weinman
Ryan Andrew Westbrook
Randy Earl Williamson
Annamarie Hufford Wilson
Jonathan Donald Wilson
Christopher John Winter
Justin Allen Wixson
Hance Douglas Woody
Chad Gregory Workman
Matthew Dennis Zollman