Mt. Tallac celebrates their 76 graduates

"Congratulations on completing the first act of your lives," Keynote Speaker Leon Malmud told the graduates of Mt. Tallac High School Friday. "Leave charged with a sense of possibilities.

Malmud, a South Lake Tahoe resident and author who survived WWII by being hidden by a French family, gave the 76 students a list of lessons as they go forward:

Be Kind to Everyone

Kindness will pay you back
Be credible, people will trust you for your credibility, the core of your existence
Do not work for fools, work for people you like
It is okay to be wrong
It is okay to fight for what you believe in
Trust your instincts
Don't be afraid to be a late bloomer, you have time to fail, time to mess up and try again
You can rethink your career choice, but never rethink being a good human being

He told the graduates "Yes, you can! Always remember above the clouds that may come, they sky is always blue."

Graduate Kai Heiden told those gathered for the graduation about his story of not liking school, but thinking that Mt. Tallac was full of bad kids. What he found when he arrived were not bad kids, but kids who just didn't fit into conventional school. "Tallac creates a community that you can't not be a part of," he said.

Tucker Leonard, told his fellow graduates that all they need to succeed is willpower and ambition. A Lynyrd Skynard fan, Tucker quoted one of their songs as he closed his talk about transformation. "Be a simple kind of man; Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can; Forget your lust for the rich man's gold; All that you need is in your soul."

"Your jaw would drop if you saw the incredible transformation from the day they walked into the door until graduation," Mt. Tallac's Program Director Holly Greenough told South Tahoe Now. She also chose to "gradate" with the students Friday as she is taking a leave of absence for at least a year.

"This is truly one of the hardest things I've had to do as I believe in these kids," said Greenough. She has been with LTUSD for 33 years, including 4 at Mt. Tallac and 22 teaching.

"Its a lot like the Wizard of Oz," Greenough said of the graduates. "Each and every one of them had what they needed, they just didn't know it."

While many didn't take the same path to graduation as those at traditional high schools, the Mt. Tallac graduates all have a bright future.

One graduate spoke of her visiting crack houses with her mother as a young girl, being there to make sure her mom didn't overdose before getting home. This student starting living on the street at age 13, feeling being with gangs was more of a family than her own.

She graduated Friday, two years early.

"They come out stronger and more determined to meet their goals," Counselor Amy Jackson said of the graduates, likening them to their mascot, the Phoenix.

There were 23 scholarships awarded to the students from Kiwanis, Soroptimists of Tahoe Sierra, and Lake Tahoe Community College.

The 2018 graduates:

Aguayo, Aaron Alfonso; Levario, Karina Lynn; Aguilar, Yessenia Victoria; Lexa, Khale James; Ayala, Manny; Lingenfelter, Madison; Babson, Jaxon Edward; Lopez Santana, Juan Antonio; Baker, Lana Ashley Rose; Lopez Villa, Angel; Benton, Mateo William; Luquin Ramirez, Jonathan Ulises; Botello, Viviana Rose; Manzo, Elidia;
Brooks, Hunter; Mariscal, Karina; Burgess, Christian Chacon Soriano; Martinez, Zuleyma Elizabeth; Cabral Garcia, Jeremmy; Marullo Quinten Peter; Camacho Rubio, Ivan; McDonough, Samantha Paige; Carpenter, Chenoa Cheyenne Rangel; Moncada Olivas, Gloria Arizbeth; Casillas Carrillo, Noeli; Mosteller, Adara; Chavez, Stephanie; Nair, Jevan; Clark, LeeAnn, Veronica; Orr, Dustin; Collins, Ezra Michael; Padilla, Kyle William; Crutchfield, Brianna Marie; Perez Jr., Jose Luis;
Diggs, Jaden Elizabeth; Ramirez Lopez, Jordi; Duenas, Erika Monique; Ramos Romero, Marisol; Escola, Ashleigh Suzanne Aletta; Ray, Anthony Enrique' Fisher, Cameron David; Reed, Nevaeh Lorraine; Fiston, Zoe Quinn; Resendiz Zuniga, Daniel Alejandro; Flores, Christopher Oscar; Rheault, Angela Marie; Flores Cruz, Yarel; Rodriguez, Nancy; Flores, Joshua; Roland, Danielle Christine; Gibson Ford, Devin Sundance; Rosas, Jazmin; Giles, Sam; Rosales, Gabriela; Gonzalez, Emily; Rosales Guillen, Guiselle; Greco, Levi Giovanni; Salas Galvan, Jaime Daniel; Hasslinger, Marisa Leigh; Sang an, James; Heiden, Kai Michael; Sperry, Lindsay Kay; Hernandez, Andrew Octavio; Stewart, James; Hollo Bergsten, Matthew Peter; Tylenda, Nicholas Wolfgang; Hurley, Sean Reilly; Vazquez Aranda, Ignacio; Jack, Neal; Watkins, Charity Ruth; Jensen, Vanessa; Wilkins, Preston; Jimenez, Alejandra; King, Akese Damani; Krueger, Melissa and Leonard, Tucker Henry.