SANDPOINT — Ask any Lake Pend Oreille High School graduating senior about their experience at the school and they will tell you a story. Many of those stories end with, "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for this school and its staff."

And they were there, walking down the aisle at graduation to accept their diplomas as hundreds of audience members applauded, whistled and high-fived the teens.

They got this.

In fact, "I got this" was one of the stories Principal Geoff Penrose told as each of the staff members presented the graduates with gifts to send them off to their bright futures.

Nick Griffin was the "I got this" kid in school, Penrose said. "Hey Nick, would you please dice that bag of onions — I got this." "Hey Nick ... you have to do like eight credits in the next quarter to graduate — I got this."

"At first it sounded to me like someone about to embark on a spectacular fail, like 'here, hold my beer,' but it wasn't that," Penrose said. "... I have to say, in the end, he does have this."

Penrose also busted a rhyme in the style of Snoop Dog for graduate Bailey Alvarez, eliciting a roar of applause from the crowd.

It was another record year for LPOHS with 39 graduates; a few were unable to attend the ceremony, so 34 were on stage Thursday in the Sandpoint Events Center.

Many more stories were told by staff, resulting in gifts that fit the students' personalities and goals. Raena Martin, for example was given a milk carton with her picture on it in case she ever gets lost. Colleen Ross, the night school and physical education teacher said Martin would often be in her class, particularly when she was supposed to be in someone else's class. So the others would call Ross looking for the teen. Ross gave the teen some other gifts as well.

Elle Kampf often volunteers in her mother's kindergarten class, so English teacher Kim Woodbridge spoke to some of the 5- and 6-year olds to get some "nuggets of wisdom and advice" for Kampf as she graduates. She gave Kampf a different gift for each piece of advice. The final one was Woodbridge's favorite, was from one of the boys in the class: "Should anything happen, she should call the cops, or ninjas, immediately."

Stacee Mitchell gave Mario Bushell, who has an "innate ability to be kind to everyone" and a love for superheroes, a gift to send him off as he plans to travel to Mexico to see his father whom he has not seen for several years — a suitcase plastered with Marvel superheroes.

LPOHS does not appoint a traditional valedictorian or salutatorian, but Bushell was one of three student speakers representing the "heart of LPO."

"It seems like he started at LPO 18 years ago," Penrose said. "Oh wait, he did."

Bushell was in the nursery as a baby when his mother attended the school. Bushell, Zach Johnson and Tommie Casteel were the speakers of the night, describing how the staff and the students helped them throughout their high school careers through support they would not have found at any other school.

Before the ceremony commenced, Bushell had told the Daily Bee if it hadn't been for the teachers at LPOHS, he "probably would have dropped out."

"This night never would have happened," he said. "This school has been more than just a school, it's family. (The staff) care about your well-being, they understand your problems, they break down learning so it's easier to understand for some students."

Bushell praised a few of the staff in particular for helping him get through high school, including Mitchell, Brenda Woodward and Ed Welch.

Kelsey DeCleve told the Daily Bee she came to LPOHS from Clark Fork two weeks into her sophomore year.

"It literally saved my life," she said. "... If I wouldn't have gone to LPO, I wouldn't have been able to graduate on time."

She said she received a lot more support from the staff at LPOHS, both in school and outside of school.

"They really do make you feel like family," DeCleve said. "I am really excited I got to spend my last three years in high school at this school — it's really awesome."

Zain Evans came to LPOHS as a freshman from Wallace.

"It wasn't working for me," he said of his previous high school. "I went in search of something a little different and I found LPO, so I thought I would give it a shot. LPO — wow — phenomenal."

Penrose particularly helped him through some tough times, but the staff in general takes the time to understand and help their students, Evans said.

"If it wasn't for them, I honestly wouldn't be standing here ready to graduate," Evans said.

While the teens praised the staff for getting them where they are, those staff members realize that students come to them because they are determined to make it, no matter what life throws their way.

"Each one of them has forged their own path over these past 13 or so years," Penrose said. "Each one of them sized up any number of obstacles in front of them, and then found a way over, or under, or around or through — they got through them. Going forward, I encourage them to always remember this night for what it is, a night of joy and celebration, and also that final step when you got to the end of a journey by working really, really hard."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.