Landmark year for Pioneer’s graduating class

Dear families, fellow educators, and Carson City community members,

We’re extending a heartfelt thanks to families, K-12 staff and administrators, district office staff, and members of our community, for helping our students achieve such an important milestone in their lives.

We’re proud to report 56 seniors at Pioneer High School graduated in the class of 2017 on June 1, with more pending during a summer graduation. This is the second largest graduating class in the history of PHS since the school was established in 1993. It’s the largest group of honors, advanced, and standard high school diplomas ever issued from PHS in one year.

Pioneer also had the school’s first CTE diploma earned for a student in the area of Health Information Management.

Other items to note and celebrate this year included the largest combined group of Jump Start, JAG, and CTE students to walk across the stage. WNC reported PHS students in the academic track of Jump Start dual college credit program earned a 100 percent course completion rate. Among the 56 diplomas earned were one honors diploma, seven advanced diplomas, 46 standard diplomas, and two adult diplomas.

Several scholarships were awarded, including seven Millennium Scholarships, a Presidential Scholarship to UNR, and three local scholarships. Pioneer students were accepted into UNR, WNC, Feather River College with an athletic scholarship, the American Musical & Dramatic Academy in New York, and the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Students also enrolled into the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.

Your roles and influence as family members, educators, and members in the community, to support their efforts throughout the years have made all the difference!

Senior highlights

Regan Hammond — Valedictorian, honors diploma, Millennium Scholarship, Presidential Scholarship, accepted into UNR

Rebecca Ostrander — Salutatorian, Advanced Diploma, Jump Start, Millennium Scholarship, Kathy Wayne Scholarship

Julia Albiter — PHS CTE Diploma, Silver Medal at HOSA State Competition, CCSD Distinguished Student Award

Bailey Armagost — Advanced Diploma, Millennium Scholarship

Brittany Billow — Charles Keller Memorial Scholarship

Terrell Brown — US Army

Victor Chavez — Jump Start Dual WNC Credits, CCSD Distinguished Student Award

Hailey Davis — Advanced Diploma, Millennium Scholarship, Western Nevada Performing Arts Program

Nicholas Franklin — JAG

Andres Garcia Jr. — JAG

Rex Kline — Western Nevada Performing Arts Program

Christina Kremasta — Jump Start Dual WNC Credits

Nicole Leonard — Jump Start Dual WNC Credits, Perfect Attendance 2016

Edward Johnson — JAG

Elizabeth McGill — WNC

Gesenia Medina — CTE Cord, JAG

Aniesa Mendoza — JAG

Jeremy Mendoza — JAG

Laura Merlin-Villalobos — Perfect Attendance Award 2016

Shane Morton — New York American Musical and Dramatic Academy

Yaneli Ramirez — JAG

Miranda Rios — Graduated in three years

Dillon Schiller — US Marine Corps

Bailey Servi — Accepted to Culinary Institute of America in New York

Alexandria Sorenson — Advanced Diploma, Gold Medal at 2017 HOSA CTE State Competition, Millennium Scholarship, Aramark Scholarship

Jed Spraycar — JAG, CCSD Perfect Attendance Awards 2016, 2017

Shelby Spurlin — JAG

Catherine Taylor-Dillon — Advanced Diploma, Jump Start, JAG, Millennium Scholarship

Konnor Van Worth — Advanced Diploma, Millennium Scholarship

Abriana Vietti — Western Nevada Performing Arts Program

Heather Wright — US Army

Dmitriy Yefremov — Advanced Diploma

Jason Zona is principal of Pioneer High School.