By Scott D. Johnston
For The GH News Group
North Beach Jr/Sr High School honored its 2019 Graduates of Distinction, Chelsea Frank and Taylor Beach, in a ceremony in the school gym last Friday that was attended by students and the families of the recipients. This is the 13th year the award has been presented to North Beach graduates who have demonstrated exceptional personal, professional, or philanthropic achievements in their careers.
Under the leadership of the late Jaen Henry, a longtime school district supporter, local residents created the North Beach Graduates of Distinction committee and presented the first awards in 2006.
Chelsea Frank, Class of 2004
Frank attended North Beach School District throughout her K-12 years, graduating as class salutatorian in 2004. She participated in Running Start through Grays Harbor College, earning both her high school diploma and an Associate Degree from Grays Harbor College. She was a violinist with the Grays Harbor Youth Symphony and Orchestra, participated in cross-country track team, winning multiple awards, and was a cheerleader. Throughout high school, she also worked for the Community Club as head lifeguard.
Frank went on to attend the University of Washington from 2004-2007, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics, with honors. After college, she worked for a prosthetics laboratory before starting her own business in Ocean Shores called Life and Limb Gel. For nearly a decade, her passion for helping others has brought life-transforming products to people around the world. In addition, she shares a beautiful family of four children with her husband, Kyle Frank.
She told the assembled students, “Discomfort and courage will build you up, and what makes you comfortable will never make you stronger. Feelings of inadequacy and fear don’t have to be absent in your life to choose to move forward and pursue a dream. At the end of your life, don’t wonder what could have been and not know the answer: take the leap today!”
Taylor J. Beach, Class of 2009
In addition to maintaining a 4.0 grade point average his senior year at North Beach High School, Beach served as a page for the state House of Representatives, was the first assistant band director at school and obtained his Firefighter I certification prior to high school graduation. He attended the North Bend Fire Academy Training Center to be trained in live fire scenarios and later spent time in Detroit, Michigan, working at the Henry Ford Trauma Hospital.
In his current position with the Ocean Shores Fire Department, Beach utilizes his paramedic training daily and serves as the lead care provider, delivering advanced life support to patients. Beach was named Firefighter of the Year in 2018. He and his wife have two children.
He told the students of his never give up quest to become a firefighter and paramedic, something he achieved at the age of 22, much younger than most career firefighters. Along the way, he graduated at the top of his class in a two-year program in EMT/Paramedic school at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, OR, lead his class at a paramedic program in Idaho, and worked for an ambulance service in Ilwaco, Seaside and Astoria. In 2015 he joined the Ocean Shores Fire Department.
“I am constantly still learning and mastering my craft,” he told the students at his alma mater. “I achieved things that I never thought possible of myself. I worked hard and applied myself relentlessly to reach my goals. If I can do it, you can too.”
