One special award is the $5,000 STAR performer award. This year’s prize went to Stephanie Beardslee, science teacher at Emporia High.

“I am very excited and really surprised, I am thankful to all the people that nominated me and wrote letters,” Beardslee said.

Unlike previous years where the award was handed out at a ceremony in the varsity gym, a video camera was taken room to room and aired on TV’s throughout the school.

“At first I was confused when they came in here because I was still watching the TV; it did not register until I saw my name on the check,” Beardslee said

With such a big award it leaves a lot of options on what to spend it on.

“In October I am getting married so some of the money will go towards that and work on my Masters,” Beardslee said.

This is her third year teaching Chemistry, Physical Science and ELL Chemistry.

“It is an honor to receive the award because so many others deserved to win it,” Beardslee said.

Other awards were given out this year including $1000 Wow awards. Which were presented to Dana Witten, registrer, Lucy Juarez, secretary and Daniel Buller, paraeducator.

Two years ago I never thought I would be graduating from Emporia, Kan., yet here I am in moments before I say goodbye to this institution where I have grown as a person. I arrived here my junior year terrified of what life would be like in between these new walls. However when you meet people Like my friend Cassie Stair things have become easier. They might not change in one instant but, having a friend, slowly you fall serene to your surroundings. Little by little you begin to not feel so out of place and alone because you found a friend.

I have to admit that although I left many things behind I also learned many things at EHS. One  thing that has helped me as a person is swim. At Compton I was never able to swim because it was a sport that was not offered. I never thought I could have accomplished in swim what I did. In two years I was able to drop ten seconds and I am thankful for that and the belief in all my coaches and teammates.

Im sure that moving on to a new segment in my life will be scary but in the end  what more is there to do? And truly I believe something great lies ahead of me and for all of my friends and fellow classmates who are also moving off to new lengths of their life.

Some seniors who show potential in certain athletics sign a national letter of intent with a college committing to them and often receive scholarships to play for that college’s team.

This year 11 seniors at Emporia High School will be or have already signed with various colleges throughout the nation.

Megan Hilbish is planning on attending Ohio State University. She was awarded a scholarship for rifle target shooting. The top two schools she was deciding between were Ole Miss and Ohio State.

“I decided on Ohio State because of the coach, the team and their political science program; it’s ranked fourth in the United States,” Hilbish said.

Oasis Hernandez signed to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. She is attending the university on a Track and Field scholarship and is planning on majoring in Counseling Psychology. It wasn’t her first choice, but she is glad she made this decision.

“I actually wanted to go to KU but when I found out about Liberty I knew it was the school for me. It was perfect,” Hernandez said.

Also signing for Track and Field are J.L. Savage, Jerel Morrow and Bethany Bowman.

Savage will be attending Pittsburg State University. He enjoyed the school’s friendly environment.

“When I went all the people were friendly and it was fun. They are also building great new facilities to train in,” Savage said.

Morrow signed with Oklahoma State University for both track and football. He chose this school for a number of reasons.

“The people at Oklahoma State are great and I will be far enough away from home to grow up, but close enough to come back if I need to,” Morrow said.

Bowman also signed for two sports. She will be attending Barton County Community College in Great Bend for basketball and track.

“Barton County is a great opportunity for me because I will be able to participate in both basketball and track. I didn’t have to choose one or the other,” Bowman said.

Noel Torres will be attending Newman University. He is signed to wrestle and play soccer next year. Torres had a hard time deciding between two schools.

“It took me forever to decide between Baker and Newman, but I finally decided Newman was the school for me,” Torres said.

Amber Mechtley is committed to golf at Baker University next year. Baker was her first choice.

“I liked that it was a private school and the classes were more personal. Also, Baker’s women’s golf team is number 1 in the NAIA,” Mechtley said.

The NAIA is the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes.

Garin Vandiver signed to Butler County Community College. He will be a part of their football program.

“I picked Butler because it’s a nice, supporting community,” Vandiver said.

Dylan Jackson will also be playing football next year. He signed with McPherson.

Jordan Kiser signed with Kansas Wesleyan University on a softball scholarship. She chose this school for multiple reasons.

“I chose KWU because of their urgency for me to play ball with them, the smaller school size, their ranked nursing program, and the fact that it got me out of my comfort zone without being too far from home,” Kiser said.

Yadira Rivera will sign with Emporia State University tomorrow to play soccer.

All of these athletes worked hard at their sport in high school to achieve what they have. The have also maintained the standard of excellence in their academics the Emporia High requires of its athletes.

Many of Emporia High’s seniors are continuing their education all over the country. A number of these students have received scholarships for their academic excellence.

These are the results for the class of 2013 seniors.

Best Dressed:

JL Savage and Karly Whitmore

Best Smile:

Nolan Scheller and Dallas Shafer

Most Likely to be President:

Will Kraft and Talia Smith

Class Clown:

Brandon Rodriguez and Celeste Ortiz

Most Likely to be Famous:

Jerel Morrow and Gabi McNeilly

Biggest Case of Senioritis:

Andrew Kraft and Bethany Bowman

Most Athletic:

Jackson Perez and Oasis Hernandez

Best Eyes:

Devin Eckman and Tristyn Baker

Most Likely to Skip Class:

Alec Garcia and Dianna Carranza

Most Organized:

Brandon Schrader and Cassie Stair

Most Friendly:

Tucker Landwehr and Sydney Main

Most Likely to Cure Cancer:

Jae Joon Shin and Kenzie Payne

Most Changed:

Alberto Marquez and Alisha Trujillo

Early Bird:

Brett Williams and Madison Ziegler

Night Owl:

Derek Ricketts and Stephanie Salomon

Most Shy:

Dylan Thomsen and Heather Mitchell

Most Likely to Keep a Secret:

Julian Robles and Megan Rahe

Not Pictured:

Best Sneeze:

Paul Hiedecker and Erica Cammarn

Cutest Couple:

Diego and Amalia Gonzalez

Most Likely to Succeed:

Jacob Wright and Barbra Haynes

1861- Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom proclaims the United Kingdom’s neutrality in the the American Civil War. Although the United Kingdom did not support either side in the war, it recognized the status of the Confederate States of America as an independent regime.

1912- The Royal Air Force is formed. The RAF is most notable for guarding Britain from the Luftwaffe, Germany’s air force.

1939- The first FM radio station in the United States opens. Many historians suspect that the first song played was “Radio Killed the Phonograph Star.”

1960- The first college protest against the House Committee on Un-American Activities takes place at the University of California in Berkeley.

May 13 is National Frog Jumping Day and Leprechaun Day, so be sure to play leapfrog with your favorite people of Irish descent. The Echo would also like to wish a happy birthday to Kendra Harder.

The first thing students have to get through is to ace their finals. The finals schedule for seniors is Tuesday May 14 finals in blocks 8 and 10, Wednesday blocks 5 and 7, Thursday blocks 2, 6 and 9, and finally block 1 on Friday.

After seniors take their first block final on Friday they will have a meeting with Mr. Sheldon in the auditorium and then have the infamous paper throw, after the paper throw seniors will then go down to White Auditorium to have graduation practice.

The following Saturday students will have the chance to attend the Senior Sermon here at EHS starting at 7p.m.

Then comes the day all of the seniors have been looking forward to, graduation. Graduation will be held at White Auditorium, seniors need to be there by 2:30p.m., but commencement does not start until 3p.m.

After graduation seniors will then have an opportunity to attend after grad here at the high school from 9:30p.m. until 1a.m. Seniors would have had to purchased a ticket beforehand to get in, the last chance for seniors to purchase a ticket is graduation practice Friday. At after grad, seniors will have the chance to play multiple games, take pictures in a photo booth and be able to win prizes that range from electronics to cash.

Congratulations to all of the seniors on their achievements now they just have to get through finals week.