Sierra Lutheran High School’s four co-valedictorians, seniors Mikayla Talkington, left, Jake Tack, Principal Tami Seddon, Andreas Gilson and Elia Keating-McEllistrem, were named at the school’s 19th annual Honors and Awards Night on Tuesday. (Photo: Jessica Garcia/Nevada Appeal)
After a year of being defined by a pandemic, Sierra Lutheran High School thought it best to top off its Class of 2021 in a unique way: to name four co-valedictorians.
Andreas Gilson, Elia Keating-McEllistrem, Jake Tack and Mikayla Talkington all will claim their class’ top seat this year during their graduation, and it suits them all just fine. The four students were named among other peers and additional honors to be bestowed Tuesday night during the school’s 19th annual Honors and Awards Night.
The special evening honors the best of the best for freshmen through seniors with department recognitions. The private school’s staff reminisced on the hard work it took for students to improve or excel in the various academic areas through a year of COVID-19 in which nothing was normal for the faith-based school.
The four students named co-valedictorians before graduation takes place May 29 said they were honored and grateful to have remained close with each other and amongst their classmates all four years.
“It is a true honor to have this award because I love this school,” Jake Tack said. “I love everyone at this school. The teachers have put so much effort into teaching, and it just makes me happy that I can represent this school well and do the best I could while I was here.”
Tack, 18, said he’s been part of the worship leadership team during his time at SLHS, describing as “an experience like no other.”
“I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” he said. “It’s a true blessing to be able to do this in a private high school while being able to praise and glorify God.”
“I was super stoked to have this honor,” Andreas Gilson, 18, said. “It is a really, really big honor to receive this after four years and a lot of work but also a lot of community and havin a lot time spent with these great people.”
Mikayla Talkington, 18, who also received the economics award from the social studies department and served as a student government officer this year, commented on forming personal relationships in the smaller school.
“One of the super unique parts of going to Sierra Lutheran is the relationships and connections you get to build just being in a smaller school and having smaller class sizes,” she said. “You get to have a close relationship with everyone that you know.”
Talkington plans to attend the University of Nevada, Reno next year and is undecided about her major.
Elia Keating-McEllistrem, 18, also enjoyed being around these specific classmates, she said.
“It feels really nice,” she said. “I’ve worked really hard for it. It just feels like what I’ve done is worth something. We’re all hardworking and motivated. It doesn’t surprise me (that there are four of us). … I think it was nice having those smaller class sizes being so small that when you needed help you could get it and it was personalized.”
She added she planned on attending the University of California, Davis to study the social sciences.
Local residents Charlie and Susie Berger received the school’s Pro Deo Et Schola (“For God and School”) award, and senior Annalyn Mueller was named the Christi Lux (“Light of Christ”) recipient. Stephanie Simpson was this year’s “Falconer of the Year.”
Scholarship honorees were Talkington, Mueller, Lizzie Loflin, Ava Mellum, Caleb Potts and Emma Sufka.
Vita Scholae (“Life of the School”) award winners included freshmen Remi Cummings and Paul Mueller, sophomores Sandra Denney and Hunter Rowlatt, juniors Charlotte Choat and Brandon Larkin and seniors Mueller and Stephen West.
After the awards were disseminated, Sierra Lutheran Principal Tami Seddon said student attitudes for the private school had undergone changes and improved once the decision had been made to bring them back on campus.
“We were able to go back to in-person learning in August, which we felt incredibly blessed to do,” Seddon said. “We could see a difference in kids’ morale between fourth quarter last year where we were virtual and then being in person, and I think we needed, for the kids’ sake, to be in person.”
Seddon said the school has prepared for its one-act play, produced by the students, to open Friday night. This followed its recent prom in its gym and so the typical high school life has returned and everyone, including staff, is happy, she said.
“It was hard not having activities,” she added. “And all the other isolation that was occurring outside of school was difficult. But it’s just been wonderful as things have opened up and as we get to have normal, end-of-the-year events like this. You can really see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
