Hats off for alternative education students
BY EARLENE WARD - SPECIAL TO THE SIERRA STAR

EARLENE WARD
Brandi Jean Johnson, a Raymond-Granite High School graduate, received the Staff Award at the Alternative Education Graduation held June 10. She is pictured with her teacher, Cindy Happ-Jett.

Forty-eight students graduated from high school June 10 during the Yosemite Joint Union High School District Alternative Education graduation ceremony. Students graduated from Ahwahnee High, Foothill High, Evergreen High, Raymond-Granite High and Yosemite Adult High.

Brandi Jean Johnson, a graduate of RGHS, received the Staff Award that is based on determination, perseverance and achievement. She also received the Madera County Board of Supervisors’ award for accelerated achievement and she received the Madera County School Board award for outstanding achievement, the Irene N. Ahlers Memorial Scholarship for character and life skills, and an El Capitan Foundation Scholarship.

Two alternative education alumni spoke and there was one student speaker.

Ashley Garitano, a 2005 graduate of EHS, said her personal experience in high school “has let me know I can be successful.” She told her fellow graduates that “you have to make goals to achieve them.” She had praise for the alternative education program, saying that without it, she would not be graduating.

Michel Musacchio, a 2000 graduate of AHS, and now a pastor at Sierra Pines Church, told the graduates that “much of high school is about self discovery. Now you can find your place in the world.”
He said there is greatness in each of the graduates and he told them to “not let the world tell you differently.” He said they need guidance, direction and courage. “Difficulties and circumstances shape you,” he said.

“If you apply yourself there’s great promise for you. Nothing comes from half measures and misguided priorities,” Musacchio said.

He said he made it through school “because there were people who believed in me.”

Natasha Fouts, a 1997 graduate of FHS, said high school taught her to think for herself.

“The success of alternative education depends on students’ decisions,” she said, adding that she learned to work independently.

She worked four seasons as a firefighter for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and recently achieved her goal of becoming the first person in her family to earn a four-year college degree. She received her bachelor of arts degree in pre-law from California State University, Fresno.

“Take the skills you learn in high school and use them to achieve your goals,”Fouts told the graduates.

Jonathan Echols, a FHS graduate, led the flag salute and Anson Brown, an EHS graduate, played the guitar and sang “Hallelujah.”
Students who received awards from the Madera County Board of Supervisors were: Christopher John Maxwell, citizenship; Heidi Marie Nilmeier, academic achievement; Isiah S. Phillips, creative writing; Lauren Chelsea Burrill, determination; David John Cavoretto, perseverance; Tiffany Ann Jordan, determination; Sharry Phyllis Liskum, determination; Hannah Gewea Marshall, perseverance; Jaylynn Ashley Pease, setting and achieving goals; John Tompkins, superior senior project; and Tyler James Smith, perseverance.

Madera County School Board awards for outstanding achievement went to Nilmeier, Cavoretto and Jordan.

The El Capitan Foundation presented seven $500 scholarships for students who will attend Oakhurst Community College. Since 1995, the foundation has awarded more than 100 scholarships. Recipients are: Nilmeier, Kenneth Troy Rosetti, Mescha Ann Bosco, Burrill, Jordan and Marshall.

The Murray Hammerling Memorial scholarship went to Nilmeier.
Oakhurst Sierra Sunrise Rotary presented a scholarship to Nilmeier.
Soroptimist International of the Sierra awarded scholarships to Burrill and Jordan.

Graduates from Ahwahnee High School are: Praujyot Singh Chauhan, Nicholas Andrew Mahle, Christopher John Maxwell, Jennifer Ann Messick, Heidi Marie Nilmeier and Kenneth Troy Rosetti.
Foothill High School graduates are: Mark Anthony Audelo, Jonathan Echols, Nathaniel Ben Goedert, Jaimie Lee Moffitt, Isiah S. Phillips, Travis Michael Shatka and Charles Roger Williams.

Evergreen High School graduates are: G. Skylarr Allen, Mescha Ann Bosco, Anson C. Brown, Laruen Chelsea Burrill, Rose Virginia Butler, David John Cavoretto, Dakota Lee Erickson, Erika Ashley Garitano, Trevor John Gonzales, Brandi Nicholl Johnsen, Tiffany Ann Jordan, Nicole JoLene Keller, Crystal Lynn Lewis, Sharry Phyllis Liskum, Elia William Luca, Hannah Gewea Marshall, Jaron Russell O’Connor, Patricia Navarro Olmeda, Brittany Regina Owens, Jaylynn Ashley Pease, Jamie Nicole Rust, Jeramy K. Schlottman, Tyler James Smith, Justin Daniel Stewart and John M. Tompkins.

The Raymond-Granite High School graduate is Brandi Jean Johnson.
Yosemite Adult High School graduates are: Lisa Ann Schwinden Aleman, Judy Casas, Max Daniel Corral, Henry G. Criswell, Jr., Robert Sesto Guiliacci, Aliesa S. Miller, Brian Michael Odum and Efrain Ruben Rubio.

Yosemite Joint Union High School District News