Graduation speeches from the class of 2012

Meet some standouts from the class of 2012, in their own words. HeraldNet collected commencement speeches from 65 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 133 instances of “high school” and 118 more of “school” on its own. “World,” “time” and “life” all are also prominent. The smallest words to make the top 100 include “college” and “senior,” at 27 times each.

Read the speeches for all the words from dozens of Snohomish County’s best and brightest students. You can find them here or choose from the list below.

• Alvin Abes, Arlington High School

• Michelle Domanowski, Arlington High School

• Kelsey Ghirardo, Arlington High School

• Teo Ekstrom, Bothell High School

• Giselle Alcantar Soto, Cascade High School

• Megan Taylor, Cascade High School

• Alexander White, Cascade High School

• Andrew Forrest, Darrington High School

• Sarah Peterson, Darrington High School

• Julien Bernstein, Edmonds-Woodway High School

• Alexander Springer, Edmonds-Woodway High School

• Leobardo Carmona, Everett High School

• Tom Gebert, Everett High School

• Michael Johnston, Glacier Peak High School

• Megan Whitman, Glacier Peak High School

• Anjuli Wilson, Glacier Peak High School

• Tia Cervarich, Granite Falls High School

• Becky Gilbertson, Granite Falls High School

• Sara Rood, Granite Falls High School

• Jakob Sprague, Granite Falls High School

• Stephen Bartlett, Jackson High School

• Sammy Loch, Jackson High School

• Ray Parker, Jackson High School

• Austin Hartlidge, Lake Stevens High School

• Navpreet Kaur, Lake Stevens High School

• Abby Molstre, Lake Stevens High School

• Lorin Vandergrift, Lake Stevens High School

• Kiley Brown, Lakewood High School

• Jacob Michelletti, Lakewood High School

• Aaron Nech, Lakewood High School

• Radu Cracut, Lynnwood High School

• Jeff Stanley, Lynnwood High School

• Mollie Xitco, Lynnwood High School

• Faith Dawson, Mariner High School

• Katherine Nguyen, Mariner High School

• Ryan Buchanan, Marysville Arts and Technology

• Stephen Calkins, Marysville Arts and Technology

• Stephan Cherewyk, Marysville Arts and Technology

• Matthew Magnan, Marysville Arts and Technology

• Kirstie Opel, Marysville Arts and Technology

• Courtney Coombs, Marysville Pilchuck High School

• Corey Coombs, Marysville Pilchuck High School

• Jon Ell, Marysville Pilchuck High School

• Chris Mischenko, Marysville Pilchuck High School

• Alexa Plant, Marysville Pilchuck High School

• Melanie Shelton, Marysville Pilchuck High School

• Seth Michels, Meadowdale High School

• Carl Bunge, Monroe High School

• Sara Job, Monroe High School

• Bushra Raza, Mountlake Terrace High School

• Miranda Troutt, Mountlake Terrace High School

• Tebra Draper, Scriber Lake High School

• Amanda LeHuquet, Scriber Lake High School

• Sabrina Rich-Bratsch, Scriber Lake High School

• Du’Sean Shankle, Sequoia High School

• Grifynn Clay, Snohomish High School

• Shannon Harris, Snohomish High School

• Maegan Nelson, Snohomish High School

• Austin Biehl, Stanwood High School

• Lynette Bye, Stanwood High School

• Anna Eide, Stanwood High School

• Nicolas Jensen, Stanwood High School

• Connor Martin, Stanwood High School

• Tim Abt, Sultan High School

• Michaela Attaway, Sultan High School

• Russell Wiita, Sultan High School