Hard work pays off for Silver State graduates

It was with mixed emotions that Tyler Cole, 17, donned his cap and gown Thursday evening.

"I'm kind of excited, but kind of sad," he said before the commencement ceremony. "I'm stoked to get out, but these are the people who sculpted you for four years of your life, and you're not going to see them again."

He was one of 52 graduates receiving diplomas from Silver State Charter High School this year. Many students said the school gave them the opportunity to graduate they may otherwise not have had.

In her senior address, Mariah Martinez, 18, said she had three strikes against her: Coming from a single-parent home, being a single mom of a 2-year-old daughter and struggling with learning disabilities.

Despite the obstacles, she said, she stayed in the game.

"I kept pushing myself and pushing myself," she said. "I never got below a 3.5 G.P.A. I'm a single mom, so my daughter needs someone to look up to."

A lengthy illness that put him too far behind on his senior project at Carson High School to catch up brought Josh Chandler, 17, to the school.

Anthony Pfeifer, 18, took a year off of high school to work a restaurant job in Maui, Hawaii. But after he was laid off, he returned to Nevada where he enrolled in Silver State to complete his degree.

Catherine Pepper, 17, said attending the school was a privilege.

"The chances Silver State High School gives the kids is amazing," she said. "They're always there to help you. I had a lot more support at Silver State than at any other high school I've attended."

Although the charter school, a hybrid that combines online classes with weekly face-to-face instruction, is under threat of its charter not being renewed by the State Department of Education, Principal Steve Knight has said he is sure the issues will be resolved.

Not only is he confident the charter will be renewed, he said, but he hopes next year's seniors will graduate from a new, expanded facility that will continue to provide a top-rate education.

"We use the technology of tomorrow to teach the students of today," he said. "We prepare them so they can go out and cope with what college throws at them, and give them the job skills required."

Scholars were recognized Thursday for receiving $84,200 worth of scholarships, the most ever in the school's six-year history.

Valedictorian Chelsea Carlton reminded the graduates to be grateful.

"Sometimes we take for granted how special it is to be graduating from high school," she said.