Before they donned their caps and gowns for graduation, an awards ceremony was held for the Pahrump Valley High School seniors who earned honors and accolades for their academic achievements, community service, athletic accomplishments and hard work.

Many of the students also won scholarships -- valuable not only for having been earned but also for giving parents some breathing room in light of rising college tuition costs.

The class of 2007-08 earned over $900,000 worth of scholarships.

* Thirteen members of the graduating class tacked on more than 2,000 hours of cumulative community service during their high school years as part of the National Junior Honor Society.

They are Danielle Brown, James Chapman, Michael Evans, Christine Gamble, Francine James, Megan Meads, Emily Poertner, Michelle Porter, Nishelle Robbins, Caitlin Swale, Stephanie Marie Taylor and Zack Wagner.

* Five PVHS students were deemed Nevada Scholars, meaning they maintained the highest academic excellence standard in the state: James Chapman, Michael Healy, Devyn Moen, Caitlin Swale, and Corey Veloz.

* Student musicians were acknowledged as well. The Director's Choice Award went to Elena Holzer, the National School Choir Award to Nishelle Robbins and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award went to Michelle Portner. The John Phillips Award went to Sean Fuqua. The Pat Gilmore Band Award was earned by Corey Veloz.

* The Elks Club took the time to award the senior students of the month. They were Caitlin Swale, Trent Ward, Mikael Redmond, Burdett Ward, Joshua Stedeford, Samantha Carns, Jessica Cratty and Martin Robinson.

The following scholarships were also awarded:

* The Chalrs Dupre Memorial was given to Meggie Muraca.

* Excellence in Academics was awarded to Caitlin Swale.

* The Geraldine Harge Community Service scholarship went to Danielle Ward Brown.

* The Jeremy Mendel Memorial scholarship was awarded to Burdett Ward.

* The Joe Windholz Memorial scholarship had two recipients: Devyn Moen and James Chapman.

* Eight students received $8,000 in scholarship money for the Keith Maeder scholarship: Ashleah Barney, James Chapman, Nicole Dillon, Taylor Lau, Emily Poertner, Mikael Redmond, Nishelle Robbins and Cory Veloz.

* The Kiwanis Club awarded four $1,000 scholarships to: Nishelle Robbins, Stephanie Marie Taylor, Elias Armendariz III and Brittany Orr.

* Martin Luther King scholarships were awarded to Devyn Moen, Danielle Brown, Zachary Wagner, Chase Kampen and Stephanie Taylor.

* The Masonic Lodge scholarship was received by James Chapman.

* The Pahrump Springs Chapter DAR scholarship was awarded to Meggie Muraca.

* The Rosemary Clarke Middle School National Junior Honor Society scholarship was awarded to Michelle Porter.

* The Pahrump Valley Lions Club scholarships were awarded to Elias Armendariz III and Chase Shropshire.

* The Ron and Charlotte Floyd Family Business scholarship was awarded to Devyn Moen.

* The Rotary Club awarded three scholarships to Zachary Waggner, Devyn Moen and James Chapman.

* Nishelle Robbins was awarded the Sam Walton Community scholarship.

* The Susan Bray Memorial scholarship was awarded to Nishelle Robbins, Emily Poertner, and Devyn Moen.

* Senior Academic Letters for students whose grade-point average was 4.0 or above were awarded to Ashleah Barney, Samantha Burke, James Chapman, Christine Gamble, Michael Healy, Taylor Lau, Angelica Neese, Alan Reimer, Nishelle Robbins, Erica Swenson, Jan Votruba, Erin Briskey, Alfonso Calvillo, Nicole Dillon, Donald Gott, Michael Kraut, Devyn Moen, Michelle Porter, Brett Roames, Caitlin Swale, Corey Veloz and Zachary Wagner.

* Senior Academic Letters for students with grade point averages of 3.5 to 3.9 were awarded to Eric Baron, Danielle Brown, Robert Evans, Kay Griffin, Desiree Lovejoy, Alex Norris, Emily Poertner, Courtney Salmon, Stephanie Taylor, Gabriel Veloz, Steven Blackburn, Jessica Cratty, Alexia Goodlow, Kyle Mills, Kristin O'Brien, Omar Roman, Chase Shropshire and Travis True.