Voices

Just how far would you go to get a good education? For Tiffany Wadel the answer is approximately 150 miles. The Bonners Ferry teen didn't even know Gonzaga Prep existed until she heard an ad for the school on the car radio. "I told my Mom I wanted to go," she said.

Valley Christian's Veronika Dragomir most enjoys serving, whether in the school cafeteria or doing chores for her relatives. "I usually go help people – that's my hobby, I guess," Dragomir said describing her interests. "Since seventh-grade, I started serving food in the cafeteria to other students." She volunteered in the cafeteria during her three years at Valley Christian School.

Elyse Lewan has lived her whole life in Medical Lake, all 17 years of it. Soft-spoken and modest, the teen is among the most notable seniors of her class. "Probably because I've been able to keep up high grades and accelerated classes, over these past couple of years especially, despite the fact that I've developed some health issues over the time, and missed a lot of school these past two years," says Lewan. "But I still kept a 3.8 g.p.a. Thanks to very kind teachers, who have been very helpful to make sure I get what I need to graduate from high school."

Ivan Yake found his niche at Spokane Valley High School. At this nontraditional high school in the West Valley School District, Yake connected with teachers who helped him and encouraged his interests in working outdoors and designing Web pages.

When Kadi McKinley started her career at Cheney High School, she had hopes of playing on the girls basketball team and the volleyball team. But during her freshman year, she began having fainting spells and couldn't perform as well athletically.

Imagine walking into a new school and taking your seat at a desk. Kids are chatting and laughing, but you sit in silence. The teacher walks to the front of the class and begins to speak. All around you teens scribble notes. But you can't. You don't understand most of what is being said. That was Kyle (Neung Kyu) Lee's experience when he first came to St. George's school four years ago. Far from his home and family in Korea he said, "I just wanted to go back to Korea."

Some may think natural leaders are those with the most domineering personalities or those with the loudest voices but Lakeside senior class president Jamie Wachter is neither. Teacher Matt Sullivan said, "She (Jamie) is among the most humble, soft-spoken and self-effacing young people with whom I have had contact."

Class of 2008 Expected to graduate are:

POST FALLS – The only problem the Post Falls Library is having with the new Teen Ya Zone is keeping the adults out. During the day, it's common to see adults sitting in the video rocker chairs in front of computers set on low tables, sitting on stools using countertop computers or at the soda-shop style booths using wireless laptops.

Justin Fox has seen how things can go wrong when kids lose their father. And he doesn't like when that happens. The Freeman High School senior lost his birth father, Alan Fox, to cancer when he was 1. And his stepfather, Rich Stokes, with whom he was close, was one of the workers who died in an explosion at the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, Idaho, two years ago.

Class of 2008 Expected to graduate are:

Angel Wills would be the first to admit that her behavior hasn't always been as heavenly as her name implies. By her freshman year she'd failed so many classes that she wasn't on track to graduate. But now, four years later, not only will she get her diploma on time, but this spirited teen is the M.E.A.D. (Mead Education Alternative Division) Quantum Leap winner. The award is given to a student who has undergone a "quantum leap or change." To understand Wills' transformation it helps to discover its genesis. She moved from Newport to Spokane her freshman year and was overwhelmed by the change from her small to school to one of Spokane's larger high schools.

This isn't how it was supposed to be. Sara Hall, who had been a sickly child and a so-so student, had envisioned a totally different life for herself. But then she got pregnant.

"Nearly 300 students, all in the first high school year, left their names yesterday morning on the rolls of the North Central high school, the doors of which were thrown open yesterday for the first time."

Class of 2008 Expected to graduate are:

Theater has helped Anthony Vanduzee reach others in more ways than one. This East Valley High School graduating senior found that acting helped him improve social skills and feel more comfortable around others. This is important considering Vanduzee has Asperger's Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and by restricted, stereotyped interests and activities. Vanduzee also credits a Coeur d'Alene psychologist who first discovered the diagnosis when he was in eighth grade and worked with him to improve socially.