Sadie Melton is a graduating senior from Maple Mountain High School. She is Aleut/Caucasian and a treasure to each lineage. Her family and friends describe her as funny, kind to everyone, beautiful and easy going. She is also hardworking, dedicated and a great problem solver. If you are lucky to be her friend, you are a friend for life. Sadie loves to cook in her free time, especially bake, her family and neighbors are often the recipients of delectable goodies. When she is not baking, she loves to hang out with friends or read a good book.  Her favorite movies are the Harry Potter movies. A TV show she can’t turn down is and I Love Lucy rerun. “I’m your Vitameatavegamin Girl. Are you tired, run down, listless?”

Foods that Sadie enjoys are Lasagna, orange chicken, and anything with sea salt caramel. Her music of choice is anything with a good beat that you can dance to or something that is emotionally charge for the moments when you need a good cry. When asked about her favorite color she said, “Black forever and always but also really light pinks or colors that are so dark they look like they are black.”

In high school she ran cross country. Her favorite classes were Prostart and English. A memorable, funny, quirky moment she will always remember is when a popular kid apologized for standing too close to her. We hope he knew he was standing next to greatness. Sadie loved watching the soccer games at MMHS. She also thought that the school had some pretty awesome dances that she enjoyed. Her future plans are to attend SUU and begin working on her teaching degree. She would like to become a foods teacher. One item on her bucket list is to buy out a whole store’s supply of Nutella. We are contemplating starting a “Go Fund Me,” account for this, hoping she will share. - We end with her favorite quote, “Save the Bees.” – Vegans.

Sadie, you are on your way to great things. We think you are awesome and are ready for anything life throws at you. Congratulations! 

Mailyn Lee, Navajo/Filipino spoke at Landmark High School’s graduation ceremony on Monday along with two other students. She spoke of how she was able to change her story by taking baby steps. And those steps led to her graduating. It could have been much different for her. She did a wonderful job and represented well.

She loves being around people and is self-confident. She has a smile that can lift anyone’s spirits.  Her family says that she has a big heart and loves to make people smile. Her friends say she is outgoing and loves to explore. She loves playing soccer, surfing, hiking and being outdoors. She has already began working on an item on her bucket list, she wants to explore all of Utah, hike, go caving and see the land.

Mailyn likes listening to music you can sing to.  She particularly likes girlie songs and rap.  She enjoys watching football and baseball.  Her colors of choice are neutrals with blue. Her favorite foods are Mexican and Vietnamese.  She especially likes chicken tacos, chimichangas and pho soup.  She plans on continuing her studies at MATC and eventually would like to go to Weber State.  One memorable moment at Landmark was when they all went out and had a kickball tournament. Everyone was so carefree and they just had fun and played and played she said.

One way she copes with hard times is to sit down and write about it in story form.  She finds that many of her answers or solutions come when she does this. We end with the quote Mailyn ended her speech with at her graduation, “Little by little, one travels far.” J.R.R. Tolkien. We know that Mailyn will go far by taking one step at a time. GO MAILYN!!

Sassy, stubborn, determined, caring and fun are all words to describe this senior. Morgan Henderson decided in the summer of 2016 after dropping out of high school months before that she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way. June 20, 2016 was a defining moment in her life. “I never realized how much you could love something so small. He changed my whole life and has taught me so much about myself and growing up. I started working really hard on school. He made me realize how important it was to graduate and give him the life he deserved.” Fast forward to May, 2017. Morgan graduated in January.  She took online courses to finish half of her junior, and, all of her senior credits. She did this while working 40 to 50 hours a week and taking care of her little one “You sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” –J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Morgan has always wanted to be a nurse. She has worked as a CNA in a care center for over a year now.  She will be going to MATC this fall to continue in their LPN program and then onto becoming an RN. She received a scholarship for graduating early so she will be using that to help her and her little family. She loves hanging out with her family and watching Harry Porter movies and listening to country music.  Not all at once but when she has time. Morgan loves Italian food and enjoys watching and playing soccer.  Her favorite color is blue. Her memorable moments in high school were all the football games that she attended. She also really liked her English classes. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter.

One day Morgan would like to try skydiving. For now she is determined to make her dreams come true while enjoying every day with her son and his father. She is Navajo/Caucasian and is learning more and more about her native side. Her favorite quote is, "Don't stress, do your best, forget the rest." Morgan we are proud of you. We have every confidence in your abilities and future.  

Colton Sleper hails from the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians of California.  They are the original inhabitants of what is now known as Orange County. Colton’s family members are great leaders in the tribe. And you can see their strength through Colton. He was able to graduate with high honors in January from Spanish Fork High School.  He has spent his time exploring his “options.” He is working now and says he will eventually go to college. His family and friends describe him as intelligent, outgoing and determined.  He has his own way of doing things and he usually ends up on top.

In his free time he likes to listen to music.  He enjoys rap and hip-hop the most. He also likes to watch Drake and Josh. The presence of parodies in the sitcom such as B. F. Wangs, Galaxy Wars and Pintendo can help anyone relax after a stressful day. Another thing that helps make his day is eating his favorite food – ribs, cooked slowly with plenty of sauce. Yum! Maybe a mocha-cola with the ribs would put them over the top.

Colton likes the colors black and red. He enjoys watching and playing baseball. In high school, his favorite class was art. Something he will always remember about high school is graduating early. He would like to one day explore New York. All the different parts of the city intrigue him so going one time will not be enough. A favorite quote of his is, “Always strive and prosper.”

Colton has all the qualities needed to prosper.  He is on his way to doing great things. We wish him all the best and, “Pip, pip da doodly do!”