WARRENTON Friends and family spilled out of the bleachers, into the aisles and into the halls Friday at Warrenton High School. The seniors came into the gym two-by-two, as onlookers queued around the entrance, trying to snap a picture of their graduates.

At the 97th WHS commencement Friday, 44 graduates took a short trip down memory lane before taking the next step from adolescence to adulthood.

Leading the pack were co-valedictorians Kim Dowaliby and Orrin Starr, who head to their respective universities in the fall to study varying types of engineering. Dowaliby, who will study industrial engineering at Montana State University, was quick to espouse her love of math.

Ive calculated that weve spent 380 minutes a day, or 35 hours a week, over the last four years of high school, said Dowaliby, who is also queen of the Astoria Regatta. We have attended or should have attended a total of 716 days of school. This does not include hours spent on homework and studying for tests, not to mention the time spent in practices, ball games, band concerts and school plays.

Class of 2014: Weve definitely put our time into our diplomas.

Graduates took the time to look back, reminiscing with their best memories of high school and showing a collage of before-and-after photos from childhood to senior year.

The Class of 2014 boasts 12 honor graduates. Its earned approximately $155,000 in scholarships to start college with. As it has for the last quarter century, that amount included the James and Jean Bayless Scholarship.

Bayless Scholarship

Jean Bayless, 89, traveled from her home in Wilsonville with the help of her son. She took the podium, as shes done before in Warrenton for more than a quarter century, and imparted upon the audience her knowledge of the expense of old age and her nice retirement community, saying shed talked enough over the years about how expensive school is.

But lets get down to brass tacks, she said.

She then awarded Starr $20,000, spread over four years.

Youve taken a huge weight off of my shoulders, said Starr, who heads to Oregon State University to study engineering, with hopes of entering the aerospace industry.

Every Warrenton graduate whos received the scholarship has either graduated college or is currently in school. James Bayless, who never attended college, wanted to give scholarships because of his own lack of funds in his youth. The couple retired to the Surf Pines community near Warrenton from 1970 to 2008.

Since 2008, their scholarship has increased from $8,000 to $20,000 overall. Jean Bayless said shes received a letter from the first recipient, Shannon Knowles, who graduated from WHS in 1989 and now lives with her family in Portland.

College-ready

Talk to principal Rod Heyen about graduation, and he oozes with excitement about the opportunities provided to graduates these days. As recently as last school year, nearly 70 percent of graduates from WHS continued with their education after high school.

Heyen said all students at WHS take the time to become registered and ready to take classes at Clatsop Community College.

I cant say enough about Coastal Commitment, said Heyen about the colleges partnership with local school districts. The partnership allows juniors and seniors to earn college credits from advanced placement and honors high school courses. That includes Heyens calculus course.

Heyen said 12 classes at WHS took part in Coastal Commitment this year. The high school, he added, focuses on offering Coastal Commitment classes that serve as prerequisites in college.

In the near future, the college will release a report on countywide participation in the program.