Orem High Tigers start journey to find oneself

OREM— Orem's 51st commencement exercises wrapped up the prep careers of more than 300 graduates, each one beginning a different journey from the same starting point.

The theme of the evening was a quote by Jim Stovall: "A journey may be long or short, but it must start at the spot one finds oneself."

Among the 377 graduating seniors, 47 finished high school with a grade point average of 3.95 or higher. Thomas Christiansen was named class valedictorian, with Jamie Gee earning salutatorian honors. Five were national merit scholars.

Along with their prowess in the classroom, the Tigers also enjoyed success on the athletic field in 2006-07. Orem earned second place in the Deseret Morning News All-Sport Award tournament, powered by state championships from the girls tennis, boys swimming and girls track-and-field teams.

A number of other region titles capped a year full of athletic memories, perhaps none more memorable than Mike Hall's 85-foot buzzer beater to beat Timpview in basketball.

Graduate Jon Henrie spoke about "defining moments" for the senior class, moments in which the seniors have defined themselves and impacted others.

"Finding who we are has been and will continue to be a richer experience because of the shared journey of the Class of 2007," Henrie said.

Austin Anderson spoke of the importance of the "here and now," when the graduates would go separate ways, each starting from the same spot, standing shoulder to shoulder as graduates.

Senior class officer Bonnie Evans presented the senior class project, a gift that would link the Orem High building to a new building; new banners to represent each of the 46 state championships won by Orem.

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E-mail: davidr@desnews.com