Oasis Academy Graduation

                            by Megan Behimer -- The Oasis Academy graduation took place at the City-County Gym, at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 18th. Nearly four hundred people gathered to celebrate the graduates. With forty graduating students total, the Class of 2019 is the first class to attend Oasis Academy since it was first founded in 2011. The national anthem was sung by student Jordan Moon, who also performed a special solo later in the ceremony, “Breakaway,” by Kelly Clarkson. Rochelle Tisdale, a longtime presence at Oasis, and the high school director, presented a (slightly tearful) welcome speech, in which she recognized each student by name, one at a time recounting the experiences they’d shared and the things that each student had added to their class and their school. The invocation and benediction were given by Chaplain Geoffery Brown. The Graduate Address was given by Valedictorian Keith Mason, whose humorous but touching speech encouraged his fellow students to face the future boldly, but without forgetting their old friendships and where they came from. Keith reminisced about being among the very first students to attend Oasis Academy and remembered the small and close community that Oasis grew from, as well as the close friendships with both students and teachers that were created in that time. The Keynote speaker was Jason Guinasso, an attorney and the Board Chairman for the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority, whose passion for the education system of Nevada was clear as he praised Oasis Academy for producing such high-performing graduates in a state that has been ranked nearly last in among the U.S. education systems for years. Guinasso applauded Oasis for its innovation and recalled that it began humbly as a circle of friends and coworkers who decided that they could “do education better,” and is now surpassing other schools in Nevada. He expressed his amazement, as one hundred percent of the senior class graduated (along with two juniors who graduated early), having earned almost half a million dollars in scholarship money. Each student also completed their Associates Degrees through the WNC JumpStart program, while keeping their grades high in both their high school and college classes. Diplomas were presented by Tisdale, and many of the students hugged each member of the Oasis staff on their way to receive them.   The 2019 Oasis Academy Graduates:

Jose Luis Alcala Ramos Myrella Angrisani Bogart Baca Megan Elizabeth Behimer Jamie Ryan Bekiares Jacob M. Betterbed Breanna Nicole Haley Ray Duke Janell May Ferrenburg-Pike Nathan Scott Gatlin Katlynn Mae Hanks Kenyen Marchris Hicks Iliana Reece Hockenberry-Grimes Savannah Lynn Jimenez Caden Aughe Johnson Hannah Jill Jones Matthew Martin Keeney Nicole Marjorie Klein Randy May Manley Keith Camedon Mason

Treglia Robert Miller Joel Talbert Mincer Jordan Makena Moon Patrick Norman Morrow Brenden Patrick Norman-Leary Trenton Jesse Nuckolls Jazmine Alexis Perez Kaylynn Christine Perez Abbey Lynn Pike Serenity Renee Resendez Christifer Tyler Rogers Joseph Garrett David Rowan Brooke Ashley Shyne Mariah Saidi Snooks Yamile Stark Cassidy Lane Stremler Matthew Ryan Swirczek Elizabeth LynnVanBuskirk Kaylie Jo Wright Ashley Nicole Youles

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