Walking across the stage to receive her diploma at West-Oak High School on Saturday was a sweet victory for Hannah Orr.

She overcame physical as well as academic challenges to graduate and follow her dream toward becoming a graphic designer.

'It was everything,' she said as she choked back tears after the ceremony Saturday morning. 'Last year I was out for three months. My grades slipped. I didn't think I was going to make it.'

Orr was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope her junior year of high school.

The neurological disorder occurs when the nervous system that regulates heart rate and blood pressure overreacts to a trigger such as heat exposure or standing for long periods of time, according to the Mayo Clinic. This causes the heart to slow down and blood pressure to drop.

After her diagnoses, Orr was put on home schooling until she was healthy enough to return to West-Oak High.

'Her teacher, Leslie Davis-Jones, helped her get back on track,' said Orr's mother, Jeanie. 'If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have made it.'

During the ceremony, Orr and her 195 classmates heard words of wisdom from Principal Kurt Kreuzberger.

'Pursue excellence in all things, and wherever your journey takes you, live a life of integrity, a life of service to others,' Kreuzberger said.

Kreuzberger told the graduates that their best years to come would be after high school and to keep looking to the future. He told them to not be ashamed of mistakes and lessons learned. He said he was proud of them for facing challenges in school.

Rebecca Reed challenged herself academically. She wore several honor cords and medals around her neck as she walked across the stage Saturday morning with her family watching. She plans to attend Southern Wesleyan University to study music education.

'I'm extremely proud of her,' said Reed's father, Bobby.

Reed was also the recipient of the John Phillips Sousa award, the most prestigious award in high school band for academic excellence.

While the valedictorian's and the salutatorian's speeches were inspired by science and Martin Luther King Jr. quotes, senior class President Marlee Jones gained some inspiration from the song 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen.

'I hope you all live beautiful lives that are filled with happiness, love, laughter and music, because that's what you all deserve,' Jones said. '... As I end this, I want everyone to realize this is the real life, it's not just a fantasy. That we're all caught in a landslide. There's no escape from this reality. So open your eyes and look up to the sky and see. We're all poor boys and girls. No need for sympathy, though. Because any way the wind blows; it doesn't really matter, because we did it. We have graduated.'

Follow Frances Parrish on Twitter @frances_AIM.

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