DONIPHAN -- The odds of going from kindergarten to high school graduation without missing a day of school are about the same as - perhaps, maybe - getting hit by lightning?
Jakelyn Friend knows about both.
Friend completed her school days at Doniphan R-I on Friday with 13 years of perfect attendance. That includes never being absent or tardy through more than 2,200 days of school.
As an athlete and academic standout, there were some close calls.
"I broke my leg in my junior year playing basketball and I got hit by lightning my sophomore year at the softball field," Friend recalled.
It was during a rain delay at Quick Creek Park that Jakelyn happened to have her hand on a chain-link fence when lightning struck in the center of the field.
"It went around the fence, struck my hand and went out my foot," she said.
She fell unconscious but amazingly came away uninjured.
Near the end of Thursday's senior awards program came another shocking experience but in a much better way.
Jake Netherland with Countryside Chevrolet and Current River Ford took the stage to present what he called 'The Bob Netherland Lifetime Achievement Award.'
Bob, Jake's father and the dealership owner, was deeply impressed with Jakelyn's perfect attendance accomplishment.
Netherland also cited her accomplishment as an example for the rest of the class to follow throughout life.
Being dependable on the job by coming to work every day is a key ingredient for success in life, he told the seniors.
After jokingly telling the audience that he 'forgot to order a plaque,' Jake instead called Friend forward to present her with the keys to a new Ford Escape.
"I had no idea it was coming," she said. "I am very grateful. It was a blessing and I love the car."
This fall, Friend will be a student at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. She plans to become a nurse anesthetist.
Going into the medical field was inspired by her mother, Katie, a well-known pediatric nurse practitioner in Doniphan.
"Ever since probably middle school, I wanted to be in the health field like my mom," she said.
Besides being a standout in sports, Friend also ranks sixth academically in her senior class of 78.
As for never missing a day of school, she credits her mother as well.
"She's played a big part in everything and really has strived for me to do great things," she said.