Meet four of the Magic Valley’s aboriginal admission classes of 2017.
At Castleford Aerial School, we photographed the seniors during an early-May English class, allurement them to baddest books accompanying to what they appetite to study. (Some followed the guideline added about than others.) At Hagerman High, seniors aggregate afore an afternoon awards commemoration in the new gymnasium.
Murtaugh High’s arch autonomous to accept his seniors go to a adjacent baiter barrage for their accumulation photo — a atom they've frequented for geology excursions and added academy trips. The seniors skipped rocks forth the Snake River and bent lizards amid interviews.
We took Oakley Junior/Senior High’s seniors out to the elementary amphitheater to accept a little fun afore they absolved the halls of the elementary academy one aftermost time. In caps and gowns, with celebratory music arena from speakers, they gave high-fives to acquisitive grade-schoolers.
Goodbye, past. Hello, future.
Castleford's Chic of 2017: 20
Jessica Knott, 18, was voted “most acceptable to alive in my parents’ basement for my accomplished life.” It’s a chic joke; Knott already confused out of her parents' abode in January.
When Tiffani Mahannah, 17, abutting the girls basketball team, she was aggressive by her concrete apprenticeship abecedary and basketball coach, Marci Howard. “Marci affectionate of aloof kept blame me,” said Mahannah, who now wants to be an elementary teacher. “She’s like, ‘Don’t accord up on yourself aloof because of concrete (attributes), 'cause you can accomplish up for it in your skills.'” Mahannah is aloof 5 anxiety 2.5 inches tall, but Howard “never gave up on me,” she said. “I attending up to her as never giving up on anybody.”
Jade Etelu, 18, will attending for a rental that accepts her two Great Pyrenees while she attends Academy of Southern Idaho in the fall. Etelu breeds and trains the dogs as guardians for sheep — the 9-month-old macho alleged Judge is “probably 145-150 pounds.”
Dylan Neimeyer, 17, rode a medical helicopter to Boise afterwards an ATV blow in May 2016. The year before, his acquaintance Jake Kaes died in an ATV accident. Neither had been cutting helmets. It was a boxy assignment to apprentice but aggressive Neimeyer’s chief activity on helmet safety. He aloft added than $1,000 for helmets the bounded sheriff’s administration provides to those who can’t acquiesce them.
Caleb Knudson, 18, loves history. “My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Kyles, got me absolutely absorbed — just the way he talked about it,” said Knudson, who may adjudge to become a building curator. But first, he’ll booty his adulation of aggressive history into the Navy, area he affairs to save money for college.
Rasmus Dinesen, 18, an barter apprentice from Denmark, didn't get to aces his destination. Although Castleford is abundant abate than he'd expected, Dinesen still got to comedy football as he’d hoped. “I’m absolutely animated it’s a baby academy because again I get added comedy time,” he said. He hopes to comedy football for a U.S. college.
Lindsey Drinkall, 17, abjure her apprentice year. “I wasn’t absolutely into (getting) acceptable grades,” she said. Earning a C in an online Spanish chic set aback her grade-point boilerplate for added scholarships, so she retook the chic her chief year. Drinkall wants to go to Boise State University and become an anesthesiologist.
Nitillia Ramos, 18, got apathetic in her green year aback she had a chargeless hour in her circadian schedule. Someone appropriate she become a teacher’s aide, so she helped out with accouchement from kindergarten to additional grade. Her adulation for teaching them behavioral acquaint led to her accommodation to abstraction analytic adolescent attitude at Academy of Southern Idaho.
Murtaugh Chic of 2017: 16 (sort of)
Joseph McConaha, 16, is a senior — affectionate of. In seventh brand he got into “8 in 6” — a affairs that allows him to complete two years of inferior high, four years of aerial academy and two years of academy in six years. By the end of this academy year, he’ll accept completed all requirements for a aerial academy diploma. But instead of admission early, he’ll appear Murtaugh Aerial Academy and acquire discounted academy credits through Academy of Southern Idaho online. He can again acquire an accessory amount in an education-related acreage afore he graduates in 2019. Meanwhile, he'll be alive in basketball, track, cheerleading, Business Professionals of America and National Honor Society.
Gerardo Martinez, 18, considers abounding of the guys in his chic as brothers. They comedy disc golf, bathe and backpack together; they’ve alike gotten in agitation together. “Freshman year, we all ditched out of our weights class, and we got caught,” Martinez recalled. The boys were collectively lectured by the arch and the concrete apprenticeship abecedary afterwards they were apparent in the locker room.
Jolie Hansen, 18, and Abbra Larson, 18, had agnate awkward moments in kindergarten — they both peed their pants because they were abashed of the teacher, Terese Cossette. “I got yelled at by the abecedary and she put me in the corner,” Hansen recalled. She was too afraid to ask to go to the bathroom. Larson, on a abstracted occasion, was additionally “too abashed to ask.” But while they bethink Cossette’s intensity, “She set us a acceptable foundation for apropos a abecedary as a acceptable ascendancy figure,” Hansen said.
Kylie Kraus, 18, begin she had a lot to apprentice about Murtaugh aback she confused there from Pennsylvania as a sophomore. Her online bloom chic that year had added bound animal apprenticeship than she’d accustomed at her above home. “All the advice was medically accurate,” she said. “But if I hadn’t taken bloom in Pennsylvania, I wouldn’t accept accepted anything” — decidedly about sexually transmitted diseases or condom use. This aggressive her chief activity on animal apprenticeship in Idaho.
Spencer Adams, 18, bootless article like 18 classes in his apprentice year. But bottomward out wasn’t an advantage according to his parents. “I ample they either were activity to annihilate me, or I could graduate,” Adams said. So instead of actuality a failure, he absitively to accomplish up the classes. “The actuality that I’m actuality amazes everybody.”
Zakery Hausner’s admired abode at Murtaugh High: The football field. But the 17-year-old couldn’t comedy this year, abundantly because his doctor beat it. He’s had six concussions, the aftermost occurring in the aftermost bold of his inferior year, adjoin Oakley. “I was aggravating to run the brawl and me and some added guy hit arch to head,” Hausner said. “We forgot all the plays afterwards that.” He still has anamnesis problems — like that buzz he larboard aloft his car afore branch assimilate the interstate.
Maci Dimond, 18, and Jolie Hansen, 18, had a bouldered alpha aback Dimond confused to Murtaugh in additional grade. Hansen and her accompany afraid Dimond and nicknamed her “Stupid,” and “they told me I would accept to go through an admission to be their friend,” Dimond said. But afterwards two years, Hansen’s accessory brought the two together. They’ve been acceptable accompany anytime since, and Hansen has apologized assorted times.
Maci Dimond, 18, won the Absence Mini-Cassia celebration and will attempt for Absence Idaho in June. Her platform: animating the arts in school. Dimond accomplished a ball chic for an after-school affairs her green and inferior years. She additionally accustomed the Distinguished Young Women of the Magic Valley scholarship; cipher from her academy had competed for it before.
Adrian Gil, 18, won a $1,500-per-semester Academy Assistance Migrant Affairs scholarship from Boise State University — but he won’t be application it. Gil afraid about adjusting to a big burghal and big classes. “I went with my gut, and I chose CSI,” he said. He wants to acquire a business administration amount and accessible a artisan boutique in Twin Falls.
Oakley’s Chic of 2017: 35
When Abigail Fowler, 17, confused to Oakley from Woodland, Calif., seven or eight years ago, she noticed a aberration in the claimed absorption she got from staff. They apparent she had balmy autism, which was a bold banker in her academy career. “Before, best agents couldn’t absolutely apprehend it was added than me aloof disturbing in school,” Fowler said. She’d distrusted others and had a adamantine time award a amusing abode or acquisitive concepts explained in a assertive way. But with advice she overcame her better challenge, socialization, and went from declining to an A-and-B student. “I don’t absolutely acquiesce it to ascertain myself,” Fowler said. “It aloof agency I accept to attending at things from a altered angle to get it to bang in my head.”
Stockton Robinson, 18, will apparently be remembered for his amusement and his acute aleck comments, his accompany say. He and Alex Contreras were voted “most articulate in class” for the academy yearbook. Aback in elementary school, Robinson recalls actuality article of a troublemaker. Already he climbed the fence abaft the elementary to get some killdeer eggs and addition acquaintance told on him. “And then," Robinson said, "I affected cried to get out of the principal’s office.”
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Alex Contreras, 18, said inferior aerial was the affliction allotment of school. “We had added appointment than we do now in aerial school,” he said. But the worst? Accepting put on the seventh-grade basketball aggregation as an eighth-grader. “That was a aplomb killer,” said Debbie Critchfield, a academy commune agent who lives in Oakley. “It was absolutely a carve in my heart,” Contreras said — abnormally afterwards he’d been on the eighth-grade basketball aggregation as a seventh-grader. He gave up basketball in his green year so he could focus on grades.
Dixie Whittle’s dream car is a adequate Camaro, corrective chicken with atramentous antagonism stripes. And the 18-year-old hopes to do it herself someday. Whittle learned some automated abilities from her ancestor and uncle and affairs to booty them to the abutting akin by belief to become a automated or automotive engineer. “I absolutely like algebraic and science, but I couldn’t handle actuality a doctor,” the chic salutatorian said. “I don’t appetite to be amenable with lives.”
Lyndi Kimber, 17, has had six surgeries aback seventh brand on both hips, both knees and her close — twice, for a growth. “Bionic woman, that’s me,” she said. The problems were ones she was built-in with, worsened by dancing and cheerleading — including aching cartilage spurs and a action in which her kneecaps popped out of place. “I accept a super-high affliction tolerance,” Kimber said, so it didn’t stop her from accommodating in dance, antagonism and cheerleading. Although she doesn’t brainstorm she’ll get aback into those activities in college, Kimber wants to be a aerial academy acclamation drillmaster someday.
If repercussions weren’t a factor, what aphorism would Cecilia Lemus, 18, accept burst afore she larboard aerial school? “I’ve consistently capital to accept a aliment fight,” Lemus said. She imagines she’d apparently go for amazon sauce, but she'd additionally be blessed abundant to use those academy cafeteria “crispitos” — a affectionate of brittle burrito that has “no taste."
Carston Lind, 18, is afraid about his accessible two-year mission for The Abbey of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lind will leave July 12 for Long Beach, Calif., area he’ll go aperture to aperture teaching bodies about his church. While he’s afraid about the crowds, he’ll additionally absence his ancestors acreage that grows wheat, potatoes, beans and barley. “My admired allotment is the harvest,” Lind said. He gets to drive a combine. “I aloof accept to music and adore it because I apperceive time is abbreviate here."
Bryton Cooper, 18, confused his kneecap while putting in assignment hours for his chief activity on able-bodied training. It happened while arena a concrete apprenticeship adaptation of the “sharks and minnows” basin bold with a accumulation of fifth-graders he was teaching. “It was a absolutely acute game,” he said.
Hagerman’s Chic of 2017: 22
Gabriela Gonzalez, 19, has formed at the Hagerman Valley Inn on Friday afternoons and weekends for the accomplished three years. “Basically, it’s aloof one actuality working, and we’d do everything,” she said. Her admired allotment of the job is affair guests from all over the U.S. — alike from Australia, Germany and China. Some of them appear aloof already a year, but she usually remembers their names and faces.
Chance Bell, 17, was one brand letter abroad from actuality a fifth in the four-way tie for valedictorian. What fabricated the difference: a "B" in an online German chic during his inferior year. The salutatorian imagines the chic would accept been easier in person, but he still hopes to use the accent aback he campaign to Germany someday.
Maria Gomez, 18, (not pictured) formed at Gem Veterinary Dispensary in Gooding for eight months, acceptable with surgeries. One of the affliction scenarios she had to witness: amputating the legs of a bedridden dog. Gomez said it was a good, admitting nauseating, acquirements experience. She afterwards adopted a pit balderdash alleged Honey from the clinic. She’ll booty the dog to Twin Falls and appear the Academy of Southern Idaho this abatement while active with her sister Alma.
Taylor Pearson, 18, lives with his aerial academy principal, Mark Kress. The two aren’t related, but “I’d rather break with the Kresses than with my grandparents,” Pearson said. He’d confused abroad from Hagerman for a brace of years with his parents. But Pearson absent the academy and transferred aback from Rimrock Jr./Sr. Aerial two weeks afore his inferior year ended. Kress, his above Scoutmaster, is “a absolutely absolute person” central and alfresco of school, Pearson said. He abstracts active with the arch has encouraged him to break out of trouble.
Cole Kress, 18, says active with Taylor Pearson is affectionate of like accepting addition brother — Kress’ earlier brother and sister accept been out of the abode awhile. But his pet peeve? Pearson is a big snacker and frequently spills candies and chips in and beneath the couch, Kress said. “He alone eats clutter food, but he’s so thin.”
Bryce Flammer, 18, got alleged into the principal’s appointment with Cole Kress — the principal's son — during a physics chic their inferior year. The two were attempting to comedy chess in class. Flammer misses the chess club the academy had aback he was a freshman, but these canicule he’s added into arena "Magic: The Gathering" with a brace of his classmates.
Samantha McCrorey, 18, was afraid during a May 15 awards commemoration aback she accustomed a $3,000 Loren and Sylvia G. Wetzel Scholarship. “I activated for it, but I wasn’t assured that abundant money,” she said. Those funds, additional a $1,000 alumni scholarship and a $1,500 two-year basketball scholarship, will advice her aback she attends Northwest Academy in Wyoming to comedy basketball. McCrorey has played aback fourth brand but about abdicate her apprentice year — until drillmaster Katie Knight abiding her otherwise. “I believed she could do it,” Knight said. “I capital her to accept it, too.”
What did Cameron Locklar, 18, plan to do the day afterwards her May 25 graduation? “I’m best acceptable to appear back,” she said in mid-May. “I’m actual attached.” Nongraduating acceptance get out of academy June 1. Locklar — who affairs to study art apprenticeship at Utah State University — imagined she’d go to her accepted haunt, the art room, and say goodbye to her friends.
