Submitted Photo The top two students graduating from Mohall Lansford Sherwood High School are Lilly Solemsaas, left, and Rilynn Beck.

MOHALL – The top two students in the graduating class at Mohall Lansford Sherwood (MLS) High School are Lilly Solemsaas and Rilynn Beck.

The graduation ceremony will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, at the MLS school in Mohall.

Solemsaas, daughter of Guy and Wendy Solemsaas, has her eyes set on Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, where she will be on the livestock judging team. With both of her parents being farmers, she has had a lifelong exposure to agriculture and is planning to study agriculture education.

Solemsaas’ interest in the subject grew when a long-term substitute teacher came in for her agriculture education course halfway through her junior year. The substitute needed help with agriculture extracurriculars and approached Solemsaas and asked if she would coach the livestock judging team, which held trainings in the mornings prior to school starting.

“I’d come in kind of tired but I always came out energized and ready for the day. It was really fun. So that kind of got me thinking, ‘Oh, I like coaching livestock judging and teaching about agriculture,'” Solemsaas said.

She said that experience got her wheels turning and pushed her toward the path of agriculture education.

In addition to coaching, Solemsaas is in volleyball, softball, National Honor Society, Student Council, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and 4-H.

Along with her extracurriculars, she runs the business Solemsaas Sisters Sheep with her sisters. They raise and sell show-level sheep. The business is going into its sixth year and Solemsaas said the experience has been one of the most formative aspects of her life. The experience has taught her independence and developed her work ethic.

Solemsaas said her favorite memory of her high school career was her freshman year band trip, during which she and a small group traveled to Bismarck and went to an indoor trampoline park, the Dakota Zoo, swimming and out for dinner.

When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Solemsaas said, “Just don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to talk to new people, not that I’ve shied away from doing that. But I think I could have done it earlier on in my high school career. Once I decided to do that, I think, is when I grew the most.”

Beck, daughter of Cody and Faye Beck, is going to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks in the fall to major in biology, with hopes of eventually advancing to veterinary school.

“It’s a little scary. I mean, I’m excited to get out and try new things but I’m definitely a little nervous to go to college and be away from my family and have to learn how to do things on my own,” Beck said.

Beck has always loved animals and enjoys going to her grandparents’ farm, where she gets to help with the animals.

Beck is involved with volleyball, basketball, softball, FFA, FBLA, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), 4-H and National Honor Society.

She said her favorite memory of high school was going to the state basketball tournament in her sophomore year of high school and getting to interact and hang out with players from other teams.

“Cherish all the memories. You don’t really think about the little things like, ‘Oh, I should remember this because I’m going to miss it when I leave.’ … Even the little memories are important,” Beck said.

MLS graduates

Rilynn Beck

Kayla Desjardins

Devis Fowler

Joseph Hagl

Kellan Henry

Neala Klokstad

Eli Labatore

Graclyn May

Riley Morlock

Tazech Neer

Hanah Overby

Tucker Pariseau

Cristyen Peppard

Reese Plesuk

Braden Savelkoul

Ginger Savelkoul

Lilly Solemsaas

Hannah Southam

Jamie Thompson

Lucas Titus

Jasmine Undlin