Meet some standouts from the class of 2011, in their own words. HeraldNet collected commencement speeches from 44 student speakers at high schools across Snohomish County. Above is a snapshot of what’s on those speakers

‘ minds as they leave high school this year.

The 100 most frequently used words in the speeches, excluding common words such as “it” and “the,” appear in the “Wordle” above. The words that appeared the most are largest, including 115 instances of “high school” and 86 more of “school” on its own. Others showed a sense of the moment: “Time,” “years” and “remember” all are prominent. The smallest words to make the Wordle showed up 17 times; among them are “college,” “music” and “congratulations.”

And why do “Darrington” and “ant” show up among the top 100? The answers are in the speeches from dozens of Snohomish County’s best and brightest students. You can read them here or choose from the list below.

• Alisa Stang, Stanwood High School
• Annie Manhardt, Cascade High School
• Ashlee Lawrence, Glacier Peak High School
• Ben Mow, Granite Falls High School
• Brad Dickson, Lake Stevens High School
• Brady Coad, Snohomish High School
• Charnie Dondrea, Lakewood High School
• Chelsea Mueller, Marysville-Pilchuck and Getchell High Schools
• Chika Acholonu, Jackson High School
• Daniel Botamanenko, Darrington High School
• David Jorgensen, Glacier Peak High School
• Garrett Dmochowsky, Snohomish High School
• Hannah Clark, Lakewood High School
• Jahmie Day, Glacier Peak High School
• Jake Lovell, Darrington High School
• Joan Tran, Mountlake Terrace High School
• Joshua Ogden, Everett High School
• Juliana Borges, Lake Stevens High School
• Kyla Yorkoski, Marysville-Pilchuck and Getchell High Schools
• Leigha Dale, Sultan High School
• Madison Hatfield, Darrington High School
• Mark Blankenship, Marysville-Pilchuck and Getchell High Schools
• Max Echterling, Monroe High School
• Megan Herzog, Lynnwood High School
• Melissa Webb, Arlington High School
• Nathan Sewell, Monroe High School
• Peter Hu, Bothell High School
• Richie Williams, Lake Stevens High School
• Riley Schmit, Snohomish High School
• Rishi Trivedi, Mariner High School
• Robert Gebert, Everett High School
• Ryan Fox, Sultan High School
• Sam Morin, Mountlake Terrace High School
• Sarah Gonzales, Arlington High School
• Shanté Stowell, Granite Falls High School
• Stephanie Banning, Jackson High School
• Taryn Ziegler, Cascade High School
• Ternessa Cao, Lakewood High School
• Tom Overton, Kamiak High School
• Tucker Cholvin, Bothell High School
• Victoria Cantu, Sultan High School
• Victoria Dan, Mariner High School
• Vietkhanh Vu, Cascade High School
• Walter Cano, Jackson High School