Alondra has been active in the science department at McNary since her freshman year.  As a freshman, she was the only person to vest herself in Science Club during the 1:1:1 period and she is the only person to dominate McNary’s three most advanced science classes; AP Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and AP Chemistry.  But above all, Alondra is a good person and wants to be someone that others can turn to for help.  

After graduation, Alondra plans to attend either the University of Oregon or Santa Clara University to study Political Science with the goal of becoming an Immigration Lawyer.

Ella has been a dedicated theater student for the last 4 years. She's had several rolls this year as well as serving as McNary’s theater club president. Where Ella truly stepped up this year is when she took on the role of costume designer for McNary shows, which is a huge commitment as the musicals involve 50 students, all with multiple costumes. She had to put in a lot of extra time and build many costumes on her own, and she was able to put together an incredible design and get everything done by the deadline. 

After graduation, Ella plans to attend Pacific University to pursue a career as an Optometrist.

Shelby is being recognized for her contributions to the Construction Technology program at McNary.  Her teacher describes her as a very conscientious student and teammate who is always on time, always ready to get started, to try new things, learn new skills, and help her classmates along the way.  She consistently demonstrates kindness, compassion, empathy, strength, persistence, fortitude, and many other amazing traits of her outstanding character.  

After graduation, Shelby plans to attend Oregon State to study Construction Management with the goal to build residential homes.

Tehya is a senior who is being recognized for giving back to her school and her community.  She has been on the Leadership council for all four years of her high school career and is currently the Director of Community Service at McNary. She has coordinated both Blood Drives for the 24-25 school year resulting in over 130 donations for the Red Cross. She organized Living History Day, celebrating our local veterans and offering them a chance to speak to classes in the school by sharing their stories of service. In December, she organized food, clothes and gifts for 35 families connected to McNary that needed support during the holiday season.  She is coordinating a 1000 Soles shoe drive for the Spring Service Project.  In addition to her community service work, Tehya been active in the National Honor Society and Theater at McNary.  

After graduation, Tehya is looking at several universities in Oregon where she plans to continue her dedication to service by studying social work.

Vincent is a senior who started the year with a less than desirable academic history.  This year he took it on himself to completely own his past lack of success and what had contributed to it over the years to make a truly remarkable turnaround.  He began to put in the hard work and ended the semester with an A in most of his classes.    But more than just grades, he was a model student who was always engaged, helpful to others, and truly approached every day as an opportunity to learn more about himself.  His counselor mentioned that one of the contributing factors this year was that Vincent finally had his eyesight tested.  He had been having constant headaches whenever he tried to read assignments, making it difficult to do the work.  A new pair of glasses changed all that making it possible to see, read and learn without the headaches.  In his remarks, Vincent gave us all a pep talk using his own story to reinforce the idea that each one of us has the ability to succeed if we make the effort.

After graduation, Vincent plans to continue his education in either criminal defense or archeology.

Ayden is a senior who has had to push through a number of challenges in both his academic and personal life.  He came to South as a sophomore and really struggled academically and behaviorally ending the year with only 5.5 credits.  His family felt Ayden needed a change, so he began his Junior year attending the Oregon Youth Challenge Program where he was able to recover nine credits.  He got himself back on track while learning some valuable skills.  Returning to South, Ayden initially fell back into some of his old patterns.  However, the good news is that Ayden has turned it around his Senior year.  He has completed his first semester in high school where he didn’t fail a class and only needs about two credits to graduate. Quoting one of Ayden’s teachers, “I genuinely admire Ayden's tenacity and willingness to push through challenges in his academic and personal life…. The determination to keep moving forward, even when things get tough, is a powerful trait I value in a student. Instead of shying away from difficulties, he uses each as a steppingstone to learn, grow, and ultimately become stronger”.

After graduation, Ayden is considering either joining the military or pursuing a career in law enforcement.

Nyx is a senior who has significantly improved her academics and her drive to improve herself to better her future.  Her first year or two in high school were rough.  She didn’t see a future and lacked motivation. Nyx’s turnaround began in her Junior year when she began the Sustainable Plant Science program at CTEC and her drive and academic performance took off! The summer after her junior year, Nyx got an internship at the Marion County Youth Farm, in cooperation with Chemeketa, where she learned to farm and grow produce for the food bank. With newfound drive and motivation, Nyx worked hard to bring her GPA up in order to be attractive to colleges.  Both her South and CTEC teachers have applauded her for the effort she is putting in and the outstanding results.  To quote her counselor, “I am so proud of her accomplishments. She is an advocate for her needs and the needs of others. I am looking forward to seeing what Nyx pursues and am confident she will change the future for the better!”

After graduation, Nyx plans to attend Chemeketa for their Horticulture associate’s degree and then transfer to Oregon State to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree, focusing on Horticulture and Sustainable Forestry.

Brandon came to South Salem with a history of trauma including some time spent in foster care.  As a result, his first three years at South were very difficult.  He ended up on probation and spending time in detention.  He was enrolled into Marion County’s Wraparound Program to receive more intensive mental health support.  Despite multiple interventions, Brandon continued to struggle and by his Senior year he had dropped out of school.  He attempted the EDGE online program but was not successful.  His counselors all felt like they had lost him.  But they hadn’t!  Brandon came back this fall and said he wanted to finish his credits and graduate and he has made a significant turnaround in his academics.  He is completing his work at the best pace he has ever had in high school which has led to the best grades he has ever gotten.  His engagement and willingness to do what it takes to graduate has been remarkable.  

Brandon passed all of his classes last semester, is on track to graduate, and is in the process of planning for a life post high school, which includes attending Chemeketa and then transferring to the University of Oregon to pursue a degree in computer science.