1) The document summarizes the graduation of the Sugar-Salem High School Class of 2011, including speeches given by valedictorians. 2) It discusses two graduates - Michael Larson, who received a full scholarship to MIT, and Wilson Rydalch, who will attend the Naval Academy following in his family's footsteps. 3) It provides an overview of expectations for the 39% of graduates attending BYU-Idaho, including the school's honor code and increasing issues with acceptance and housing.

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HOLIDAYS
INSIDE
June 19
Father’s Day
July 4
Independence Day
1. Honoring the Class
of 2011
2. Graduate Receives
Scholarship to MIT
3. Family Tradition:
Graduate Follows
the Family Footsteps
to Annapolis
4. What to Expect
at the “University
Down the Road”
Honoring the Class of 2011
By: Amy Riddle
On Wednesday, May 25, everyone
stood and honored Sugar-Salem high
school seniors as they graduated in style
in the grand setting of the BYU-Idaho
Center. The students felt excitement as
they embarked on their new journey.
Student Body President Brandon Somsen
began with a speech and gave inspiring
remarks. He declared, “As we go on, don’t
let the voice of others drown out your own
voice.”
One of the valedictorians, Cira Harris, said,
“Dare to leave your mark on the world, for
it is not what you become, but what you do
to impact change.”
Another valedictorian, Avery
Schwendiman, said, “Along this journey,
life will be filled with wonderful moments,
but also with adversity. Choose to face it
head-on. Experiencing the difficult will
help have greater appreciation in this life.”
As the commencement proceded, another
valedictorian, Brandon Somsen, said,
“Never give up what you want most for
what you want now.” This statement
expressed a general feeling of progressing
towards lifelong goals and achieving them.
The class of 2011 is outstanding. Although
they will be leaving friends, teachers and
loved ones, the song performed by the
choir, “You Raise Me Up,” will showedring
out gratitude in these students’ minds as
they show their thanks to all the people
who have supported and helped them
through the years.
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Michael Larson, a recent
graduate and valedictorian
at Sugar-Salem High School
was accepted with a full-ride
scholarship into the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT).
With help from the Quest Bridge
program (a program that helps
low income students that are high
performing academically), Larson
was able to have his application
sent to many outstanding
universities including MIT.
Larson has always had the dream
of being able to invent something
but never thought it could be a
reality.
“I always knew MIT was there,
and that was always a dream,” said
Larson. “I am relieved now that it
has worked out in my favor.”
MIT scholarships are given out
solely on a need bases. The
general tuition amount for one
year at MIT is normally $53
thousand. While still undecided
but actively researching, the
programs Larson is interested
in majoring in are Mechanical
Engineering, Robotics and
Aerospace.
Larson is grateful for the teachers
at Sugar Salem High School that
played a valid role in helping
prepare him fulfill his lofty
aspirations in furthering his
education at one of the most
prestigious Institutions in the
country.
“I think the teachers are really
great here.” says Larson, talking
about the instructors at his high
school.
Larson wants to make a difference
in the ever-expanding world of
technology.
“One of the reasons I chose MIT
is because they will prepare me
best for making a difference,”
said Larson. “Getting myself to
those places where I can make the
biggest difference was my biggest
motivation.“
Graduate receives scholarship to MIT
By: Joy Baird
The United States Naval
Academy accepted recent Sugar-
Salem High School graduate,
Wilson Rydalch, with a full-ride
scholarship to begin in the fall of
2011.
Wilson will not be the only
Rydalch to attend the Naval
Academy, both of his elder
brothers, Fletcher and Andrew,
have led the way inspiring him to
follow in their footsteps.
“Over at the academy they have
different lists like the Deans list
for example,” said Rydalch. “Then
they have something called God’s
list. My brother was on God’s list
with a 4.0.”
With the bar set so high, the
time needed to keep up will be
necessary. Rydalch’s full-ride
scholarship to the academy gives
him one less thing to worry about:
money.
Family Tradition: graduate follows the
family footsteps to annapolis
By: Ben Smith

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The class history brought laughter
to the audience as they reminisced
about past memories and funny
sayings.
A moment of comic relief was
followed with another musical
number, “The Witch and the
Saint,” by the wind ensemble.
The graduates were presented with
diplomas and officially became
high school graduates. The walk
across the stage with diplomas in
hand symbolized the beginning of
a new life.
These students will always
remember the years they
experienced together at Sugar-
Salem High School.
Honoring The Class of 2011 Continued...
The Scholarship includes
what the academy would call a
‘Two for Five’. “You sign after your
second year of college and the
scholarship will continue paying
for the rest of your education for
a commitment of five years of
service in the Navy”, said Rydalch.
“It’s like your first job after
college.”
Rydalch’s dream was not yet
fulfilled with his acceptance into
the academy; his dreams go much
further than that.
“When I was growing up I wanted
to play sports like any other boy,”
said Rydalch. “Engineering is
what really caught my attention
here in high school, especially
nuclear engineering; that’s what I
really want to do.”
It seems that Rydalch is
following in the footsteps of
many accomplished people in
our nation’s history including
President Jimmy Carter, John
McCain, and some 52 Astronauts
who were all graduates at this
prestigious academy.
Wilson Rydalch life’s journey
is certainly taking him to new
heights. He is ready to take on the
next challenge that awaits him,
whatever it might be.

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Sugar-Salem High School
graduates are preparing themselves
for the next step in their education:
attaining a college degree. With 39
percent of the 2011 class heading
off to Brigham Young University-
Idaho, expectations are high.
“I’m hoping to go there and get a
good education,” said Alex Bear,
recent graduate of Sugar-Salem
High School. “I can hopefully get
my degree in the quickest way
possible, so I can get out in the
world and chart my own path.”
Incoming freshmen at BYU-I start
out in the Get Connected program
by being placed into I-Teams for
freshmen orientation. I-Teams are
coed groups of about 20 students
who are led by volunteer student
I-Team leaders to participate
in various experience-building
activities.
“I-Team is a student-run
organization where volunteers take
on new students to lead in get-to-
know-you and campus activities,”
said Keri Ralls, a Student Support
Council member. “It’s important
to be involved in school programs
from the beginning because they’ll
greatly enhance your school
experience and help you meet great
friends.”
“I’m real excited. My whole family
has gone to BYU-I; that’s where my
parents met,” said Robyn Slack, a
2011 Sugar-Salem graduate.
What to Expect at the University
Down the Road
By: Amy Brown

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The school consists of six different
colleges with their own separate
emphases and offices. Each college
is a broad collection of the more
specific majors offered at the
university, which branch into their
own offices as well.
Colleges and their Office Locations:
Agricultural and Life Sciences:
Ezra Taft Benson Building
Education and
Human Development:
Gordon B. Hinckley Building
Performing and Visual Arts:
Jacob Spori Building
Physical Sciences and Engineering
George S. Romney Building
Business and Communication &
College of Language and Letters:
Joseph Fielding Smith Building.
A unique and often disputed aspect
of BYU-I is the honor code, which
is slightly more restricting than the
honor code at BYU. Many students
take up sides in the debate over
flip-flops, shorts and beards. The
school’s code states, “No capris or
shorts may be worn on campus,”
and “Men are expected to be clean
shaven; beards are not acceptable.”
The official statement on flip-flops
is that they are casual footwear not
to be worn on campus, and the
generally accepted policy is that a
shoe needs a back strap to qualify
as a sandal.
Acceptance and housing for BYU-I
students has been a rising issue.
With its distinctive three-track
system, the school has been able
to accept more and more students
each year, even launching an
expansion plan that has accounted
for a 9.5 percent increase from
just last year. Students are now
starting to report a higher difficulty
in getting housing for school,
which should concern incoming
freshmen.
New Sugar-Salem graduates of
2011 entering a new school system
should prepare and research the
changes and policies of all aspects
of their chosen college.