Honoring the Top of the Class of 2021 (May 26, 2021)

As graduation day for the seniors of Beaver Dam High School, Moapa Valley High School, and Virgin Valley High School approaches, The Progress spotlights the Valedictorians and Salutatorians from each of these schools. Due to the number of qualified students, this is the second in a two-part series. This week, The Progress will highlight students from Beaver Dam High School and Moapa Valley High School.

By CHARLENE PAUL

The Progress

BDHS Valedictorian Elizabeth Jensen decided as a freshman to become her school’s Valedictorian.
“My brother and I were the first ones in my family to go to public school,” Elizabeth said. “All of them had been homeschooled before that.”
Her favorite classes are English, Physics, and Theatre.
“Theatre is so much fun!” she said. “With COVID, we weren’t able to put on any plays, but we have done improv. We also learned about other plays like Bye-Bye, Birdie; Shrek, the Musical; and Grease. I also love reading.”

Elizabeth has been involved in a variety of things during her high school years.
“I played volleyball all four years,” she said. “I played softball my sophomore and senior year because of COVID in my junior year.”

“I also got into snow skiing and broke a lot of bones,” Elizabeth added. “I’m obviously a beginner, and I ran into a metal pole and broke my arm, femur, and hip. I’m healed up now, so I was able to play volleyball and other sports this year. I’m also the Vice President of the school.”

Living in a town as small as Beaver Dam has its challenges.
“I like living here,” Elizabeth said. “But I do wish the students had more opportunities. We have a small choir, but with COVID, we couldn’t do much with it this year. I would like to see a music program with a band and instruments. I think the students would really like that.”

After graduation, Elizabeth plans to attend Dixie Tech in St. George.
“I’m going to go into digital media design and get my certificate in that,” she explained. “I want to become a graphic designer. And I have a funny dream to eventually work for Marvel and do graphic design for their movies. There is so much that goes into it, like photography and stuff. I’m really excited to learn all of that. I’ve seen a lot of things on social media where they do art digitally, and they turned out amazing. I like traditional art, but I want to try a career with digital design rather than traditional art.”

Moving to St. George will be a family affair.
“My brother, my mom, and I are going to move to St. George because my mom is a college student,” Elizabeth said. “She goes to Dixie State University (DSU), so we’re thinking about moving into St. George and sharing an apartment.”

When Elizabeth was twelve, her father passed away.
“After my dad passed, my mom wanted to get an education because she never had the chance,” Elizabeth said. “So she didn’t have a job or education to fall back on to provide for my siblings and me. She told me I should get an education so that I can take care of myself.”

Elizabeth would like to encourage the younger kids entering high school.
“I would tell them to try and get ahead of things,” she said. “I would tell them to get involved in stuff and don’t procrastinate, even though it’s the hardest thing for high schoolers not to procrastinate. Just get in front of things.”

One last thing she would like people to know about her.
“I would just like to say I have broken the dumb blonde stereotype,” she said. “Because I’m blonde, and I’m the Valedictorian.”

Elizabeth is the daughter of Anna Jensen and the late Ernie Jensen.

Salutatorian Prisilla Mancha has been encouraged by her mom to be the best she could be.
“My mom always motivated me to do my best,” she explained. “So, since my freshman year, I have been trying my best in school and other things.”
Prisilla was born in Chicago.
“I came to Beaver Dam from Chicago as a kindergartner, and then I was back and a forth a bit,” she said. “With all of the back and forth, I kind of lost track in school. I actually got held back in the first grade. But it motivated me to do better.”

English and writing are Prisilla’s primary focus.
“I love English and writing,” she said. “I keep journals, and I could write forever. I’ve been writing about my experiences through this COVID stuff.”
“I also played softball for two years,” she added. “My position was first base, and I really enjoyed playing. Unfortunately, I had to earn money for my apartment.”

Prisilla enjoys working with children.
“I work for Mesquite Lutheran Childcare,” she said. “I love working with the toddlers. We do little projects like painting, and we play outside. Over the summer, we have water days and lots of other activities. We closed for about two months with COVID, but it’s pretty much back to normal now. We wore masks, but the kids didn’t. I mean, we can barely get them to keep their shoes on.”

It can sometimes be difficult finding things to do in a small town like Beaver Dam.
“It’s just so small,” Prisilla said. “I love driving around and getting snacks and listening to music with my friends. Sometimes, we go to the park and have picnics. There’s not really much else we can do here.”

“When COVID hit, I saw a lot of kids start failing classes,” Prisilla said. “But I made sure I stayed on top of everything because I didn’t want to fall behind. Being home wasn’t an excuse.”
Prisilla doesn’t allow herself to make excuses.

“I actually did my senior project on being held back in school,” she said. “I mean, a lot of times, people say kids can’t come back from something traumatic like that. Teachers feel bad for them. But that just makes those kids feel bad.”

“I felt embarrassed a lot,” she continued. “But it doesn’t have to be that way. Teachers shouldn’t feel bad for us. That stuff can be motivating. I try to do my best in everything, and when something affects me, I come back even stronger. And that’s why I’m so happy to be Salutatorian because I did not expect this. This is part of what I plan to talk about in my graduation speech.”

Prisilla will attend Dixie Tech and St. George after she graduates.
“I’m going to be a medical assistant, and that takes one year of classes,” she said. “I’m going to move to Mesquite and live with my sister while I go to school.”

Prisilla’s advice could easily be a tee-shirt slogan.
“Stay focused because we really can’t waste any time. Everything goes by so fast,” she said.

Prisilla is the daughter of Sindia Renteria and Louis Mancha.

Valedictorian Kayli Thompson gives credit to her parents for making learning a priority.
“They just always pushed my siblings and me to do well academically,” she said.
This year, there is only one Valedictorian and one Salutatorian at Moapa Valley High School. That is a change from past years.

“The administration decided to remove the cap off of the GPA this year,” Kayli explained. “That means that the student with the highest overall GPA was chosen to be the Valedictorian. I’m glad I was able to achieve that.”

Kayli’s favorite classes have varied from year to year.
“It really depends on the teacher,” she said. “But I find that in general, I like math and English classes. I don’t care as much for science and history. I’ve also been involved in band and marching band in the past, but this year, I’ve really just focused on school and work.”

When COVID shut down the schools last year, Kayli didn’t do much lamenting.
“A lot of my classes just ended,” she said. “So, that was nice. I had two AP classes, so I had to keep studying for those. Then I had one CSN (College of Southern Nevada) class, and I had to finish that. But the rest of them just stopped.”

The schools in Moapa Valley began the current school year on the Clark County School District Hybrid Model.
“I started in Hybrid, and then I moved to fully online,” Kayli explained. “I took three classes through Nevada Learning Academy and then classes through the high school here. I already had a lot of classes, and I didn’t think it would make that much of a difference. I was also working at Valley Enterprises and didn’t want to cut back on my hours.”

Kayli is a native of Moapa Valley.
“I’ve lived here my entire life,” she said. “It’s a nice place. It’s just very small, and it can be a little boring because sometimes there’s not much to do. I love spending time with my little brothers. And I love animals. We have a goat, dog, and a cat, and we had chickens in the past.”

Kayli’s dad is a science teacher at MVHS. When she was asked if she had thought about following in his footsteps, she didn’t hesitate with her answer.
“No,” she said. “I don’t think I would.”

Like most of the graduates this year, Kayli’s advice is about time.
“I would tell the students not to take this time for granted because it goes really fast,” she said.

In July, Kayli will head to BYU-Idaho.
“I want to major in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in business,” she said. “So, that is kind of math-related. Interdisciplinary Studies kind of lets you make your own major. You just kind of build the classes you need based on your career goal. I’m not exactly sure yet what exact career goal is, but business is where I’m leaning.”

“I found a place to live, but I don’t know who my roommates are,” she added. “I’ve kind of thought about a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I haven’t decided yet.”

Kayli is the daughter of Greg and Carolyn Thompson.

Salutatorian Angela Werner never formally decided she wanted to be Salutatorian.
“I never really decided I wanted to do it,” she said. “I just always wanted to have really good grades and try to get straight A’s throughout school, so I could get scholarships and get into the college I wanted to go to.”

Angela has a few favorite courses.
“My favorite classes are whatever art class I’m taking, and either history or English,” she said. “It just depends on the year.”

Angela has been accepted to BYU-Provo and will attend in the fall.
“I’m not really sure what major I’ll do yet, but it will probably be English,” she explained. “And then it’s on to law school. My dad’s a lawyer, but I mostly decided to do it because it matches what I’m good at, like English skills. And it’s a good way to support yourself.”

Angela has seen a lot of changes since COVID shut down the schools in CCSD during her junior year.
“I was working at the YMCA as a lifeguard and a swim instructor, and I lost my job for a little while,” she said. “Then, in September of this year, I moved from Somerset Academy Losee in North Las Vegas to Moapa Valley High School. It was a little crazy because it was in the middle of COVID. Before I came here, I did volleyball, basketball, and track and field. I participated in National Honor Society (NHS) every year except this year.”

Angela’s parents had a few reasons for relocating to Moapa Valley.
“My mom used to live in a small town, and she always wanted to get back to a smaller town,” Angela said. “And also, if we moved out here, we could get a bigger house so my mom’s parents could live with us.”

“I like the small town,” she added. “I both like, and I don’t like that everybody knows each other. I’ve started to make a lot of friends here, though, especially in my English AP class. We’ve all been pretty good buddies.”

There are seven children in Angela’s family.
“I’m the oldest of seven siblings,” she said. “The next oldest are twins who are in their sophomore year. There’s a middle schooler in seventh grade, a fifth-grader, a second-grader, and a kindergartner.”

When Angela attends BYU-Provo in the fall, she will have a new, clearer vision.
“My parents’ graduation gift to me was PRK surgery on my eyes,” she said. “It’s like Lasik, but better. So I won’t have to wear glasses or contacts anymore. It’s going to be nice because contacts are expensive.”

Angela’s advice to the younger generation is simple.
“It probably kind of sounds a little silly since I’ve worried so much about my grades,” she said. “But I would tell them to worry less about grades. It’s okay to do a little more hanging out with friends and stuff like that. Don’t wait until halfway through high school to be social.”

Angela is the daughter of Reed and Marcie Werner.