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Class of 2018’s 50 grads march for Frontier’s 50th anniversary

NEW MATAMORAS — Fifty years after Frontier High School was created, a graduating class of 50 members walked the stage Friday night. The gymnasium of the school was filled with family and friends of the graduates.

John Miller and Kristi Leonard sat together waiting to see two family members, Dalton Webber and Alicia Winstanley, receive diplomas. For Leonard, it was a look at the future and for Miller, a glance at the past.

“I was in the first graduating class here, 1969,” said Miller, who has taught at Parkersburg High School.

Leonard is looking ahead to next year, when she’ll start teaching at Frontier. She’s also a Frontier grad, from the class of 1988, and now has come home to teach others.

Greeting people at the gym entrance, principal Beth Brown said she’ll be excited to see what the members of the class will accomplish.

“They’ve made some great memories here, and I’m really proud of them,” she said.

Graduate Brent West, waiting outside the gym for events to begin, said he’s looking forward to attending college at Glenville State University, where he’ll study for a degree in secondary education, a career inspired in part by his experience with Frontier faculty.

“All the teachers here are really good,” he said.

West said he feels ready for the world.

“You have concerns, but me, I just want to do my best to bring a smile to everybody’s face,” he said.

Rebekah Greathouse, swathed in gold robes, said she’s enjoyed her time at Frontier — she went to Frontier schools throughout her education — and expects to take a year off before going to college to study for an RN degree, along with education. Ultimately, she said she wants to open a daycare.

National Honor Society president Samantha Farnsworth said she’s looking forward to starting a career, being financially independent and having a family. For the summer, she’ll work as a lifeguard.

“I want to spend time with my friends, especially the ones who are moving away,” she said.

Farnsworth said the world she’s going into doesn’t intimidate her.

“You can’t live in fear, you can’t let that stop you from achieving your best,” she said.

English teacher Chelsea Warren stood outside the gym entrance as speeches echoed in the room and the graduates sat waiting to walk the stage and receive their diplomas.

“They’re such an array of different people,” she said. “Some are already in the workforce, others have dreams of going into medical careers or becoming teachers, such a broad group and so tight-knit. There’s a lot to appreciate. They’re like my children.”

Warren, a graduate of Fort Frye, has been teaching at Frontier for two years.

“I plan to stay here,” she said. “I don’t know where else I’d want to be.”

At a glance

Frontier High School class of 2018

¯ Number of graduates: 50.

¯ Class motto: “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss.

¯ Class color: Mint green.

¯ Class flower: Dahlia.

¯ Class officers: President, Samantha Farnsworth; vice president, Michaela Ann Douglas; secretary, Alexis Kiara Scadden; treasurer, Kyle Jean Daugherty.

¯ Salutatorian: Alexis Kiara Scadden.

¯ Valedictorians: Samantha Farnsworth, Tiffany Nicole Graham, Ryan Anthony Lamp.

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