Before this years graduating class says goodbye to four years of high school and prepare to finally receive their diplomas, two alumni who walked down the same halls before them will be honored.

Jane Derenowski and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Steven Behmer were selected as this years distinguished alumni honorees. Both are scheduled to speak to the Lake Havasu High School graduating class of 2014 during commencement tonight at 7:30.

Tonight, Derenowski will speak to the graduating class in a message projected onto a large screen. After that, Behmer will address the audience in person.

Derenowski is the medical producer for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. She graduated from Lake Havasu High School in 1986 and was involved in various extra-curricular activities. Derenowski wrote for the school's newspaper, participated in student government, spirit squad, attended the Girls' State Leadership Program.

After high school, Derenowski attended Arizona State University and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1990. She went on to work for KAET-TV, the local PBS station in Phoenix and KPHO-TV, KTVK-TV, KVOA-TV in Phoenix and Tucson and later as an assignment editor and producer for NBC News in New York.

I love the deadline pressure at my job, Derenowski said. I thrive on it; I love it.

Derenowski said that although she wasnt the best student, she always worked hard and said living in a small town made her dream about branching out to see the world and meet many people.

The isolation that I felt as a teenager in Lake Havasu City inspired me to work harder and expand my experiences, she said.

One piece of advice she would give students is to work hard and be respectful to one another.

You need to work hard but still be nice to everyone you meet, Derenowski said. You dont know how important it is to send someone a hand-written thank you letter in an age with so much social media and Internet a hand-written note to someone still goes a long way Be the first one at the job, and the last one to go home because the competition is fierce out there.

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Distinguished LHHS alumni to be honored at commencement