Lilith Frakes is the valedictorian and Emily Phillips is the salutatorian of the Clarion Area High School Class of 2017.
Commencement exercises will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at Marwick-Boyd Auditorium on the Clarion University campus.
Both Frakes and Phillips will speak at the commencement ceremony.
Frakes is the daughter of Robert and Susan Frakes. She is currently president of Youth Council, vice president of band and her senior class and secretary of National Honor Society. Frakes has also been a Student Council representative for the past four years. While participating in cross-country and track and field for two years, Frakes has earned four varsity letters. She is a member of the school’s Film and Shakespeare clubs and the Pennsylvania Biathlon Club.
Frakes participates in the high school concert, marching, jazz, pep and honors bands and is a member of the senior high choir.
She has been actively involved in various academic competitions, including the reading competition, the math competition, the Clarion B.E.S.T. Robotics team, Science Olympiad and the academic challenge competition team.
Frakes recently earned her Girl Scout Gold Award. In her spare time, Lili enjoys reading, watching movies and learning about primatology.
She will be attending Stanford University this fall.
Phillips is the daughter of Jamie and Marilee Phillips of Clarion. She is treasurer of the senior class, Student Council and National Honor Society, vice president of the Clarion B.E.S.T. Robotics team and a member of Youth Council and Science Olympiad.
She is also in the school’s show choir, Clarion Singers, Phillips has continued her love of performing by participating in several musicals at Clarion Area, including being cast in a lead role in All Shook Up.
Phillips served as a drum major for marching band. She has participated in District and Regional band and choir. She has also participated in cross-country and track and field. Phillips will be attending college to major in microbiology and biotechnology, hoping to go on to medical school and one day become a neurologist or neuroscientist.
The keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony will be Robert Dull.
As a guidance counselor for Clarion Area Elementary School until his retirement in 2006, Dull positively impacted the lives of this graduating class in their earliest years of school. Prior to working at Clarion Area, he was the guidance counselor in DuBois Area Elementary School, totaling twenty-eight years of service to public education.