By Mary-Justine Lanyon
“Don’t quit, don’t quit, don’t quit.”
That was the message from Rotarian Geoff Hopper as he addressed the Class of 2024 at the Mountain High School graduation, held in the Performing Arts Center at Rim of the World High School.
The message was passed on to Hopper by his father; it was a mantra he took to heart. When he didn’t do well in school, when his high school laughed at the idea of his attending college, Hopper repeated to himself “DQ, DQ, DQ.”
He eventually turned his focus to the law, becoming a successful attorney. But always in the back of his mind was that worry about failing. “I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop,” he told the students.
He concluded his address by telling the students to always treat others with respect. As a token of his admiration for them, he presented each with a Dairy Queen (DQ) gift card.
The choice for a student speaker at commencement was obvious, Principal Marina Amador said. “One student immediately stood out,” she said.
Mountain High School helped him turn his life around, student speaker Brendan Nelson told fellow graduates, leading him to graduate a month early.
Brendan Nelson, who has served as the chair of the Mountain High school site council, acknowledged he had a “rough” high school experience. The end of eighth grade and ninth grade were taken away by COVID – “I got no work done,” he said. He neglected his work in 10th grade. He realized how far behind he was but got burned out and discouraged during his junior year. “I felt hopeless because I was too far behind,” Brendan said.
It was then a counselor called him in and suggested he consider going to Mountain High for his senior year. “I had heard others talk negatively about the Mountain High students and the school,” Brendan said. “But I felt I needed to change what I was doing to succeed.
“Mountain turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. I went from being behind to graduating a month early.
“Be proud of your efforts and your accomplishments,” he told his fellow graduates. “I can’t wait for the rest of my life. I can do great things and you all can, too.” Brendan plans to take a year off to earn money for a car and then attend Valley College and study business.
Seven students were awarded scholarships by the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club.
Four organizations awarded scholarships to graduating Mountain High students.
Deborah Fancett and Priscilla Williams, representing the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club, awarded $400 scholarships to:
• Faith Vargas for Inspiration
• Violete Parnow for Perseverance
• Kalea Gentzel Oleson for Trustworthiness
• Brendan Nelson for Leadership
• Atreyu Romero for Service Above Self
• Hunter Moffitt for Vocational Pursuits
They also awarded the Jim Manson scholarship to Giselle Garcia, who will receive $1,000 a year for two years. She plans to study sonography.
Aylene Popka from the Lake Arrowhead Rotary Club awarded $500 incentive grants to Haden Negron and Jocelyn Camacho.
Cindy Gardner awarded two scholarships from the Rim of the World Communities Scholarship Council: $1,000 to Cassandra Najera Rodriguez and $500 to Giselle Garcia.
And Elaine Tipton and Lauralea Hopper from Soroptimist International of Rim of the World awarded Cassandra Najera Rodriguez $1,000 as she pursues a career in nursing.
The students then received their diplomas from their teachers, turned their tassels and celebrated with their families as they enjoyed some cake.
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