The line of 85 Conant seniors walking down the tarmac of the Silver Ranch Airpark towards their graduation ceremony Friday evening wearing orange and black masks, was the culmination of a lot of coordination and effort – and the final show of how the class of 2020 working together to get things done.
With the space allowed by the airfield, seniors and their guests had enough room to socially distance, allowing them the in-person graduation and chance to say good-bye together that they wanted.
It’s the capstone to a year when their class had to show flexibility to thrive, said valedictorian Georgia “Wren” Wolterbeek. Their class shouldn’t be remembered as the “class without a senior spring,” Wolterbeek said, but instead, as the class that even in the midst of a pandemic, continued to celebrate each other virtually, organize car parades to mark birthdays, and yes, continued to go to class through their webcams.
“We’ve shown not only perseverance, but adaptability, which is going to help us in the next chapters of our lives,” Wolterbeek said. “And that doesn’t even touch upon the new skills and hobbies learned, or the copious amounts of fluffy coffee, TikToks, and loaves of bread that have been made during this time.”
They threw that adaptability at the problem of how to have a graduation during a pandemic, and on Friday night, they were able to realize that vision, to graduate with as little disruption as possible.
“When faced with an uncertain graduation, and disappointment, we did not despair,” Wolterbeek said. “Instead, we all banded together to problem-solve, and think of a new idea for a senior spring.”
They spoke up and fought for what they wanted, and got it done. That perseverance needs to carry into the rest of their lives, Wolterbeek said, particularly considering the current political climate.
“As we move forward to the next part of our lives, we must continue to use our voices for change, now more than ever, to call out injustice and racism, to problem solve, and above all, to serve others,” Wolterbeek said.
And that, noted Conant High School Principal Brett Blanchard, is the perspective that would put Conant students on the short list for his “toughness team,” if he were trying to put such a thing together.
“I think the current times has shown us that society’s models for toughness and perseverance have been in error.” Blanchard said. The role models should not, he said, be athletes, influencers or entertainers. But should be taken from those people among us – those who continued to do their jobs and serve the public in the midst of the pandemic. And those students who didn’t let their final year be ruined by their circumstances.
Abigail Drew, senior class president, said their class has lived through a lot of historic events in the past two decades, both good and bad.
“But despite all those odds, we still managed to graduate,” Drew said. “It’s been pretty hard on all of us since we’ve been in quarantine, not able to see out best friends every single day in the hall, or even walk the halls that we once owned, or see our favorite teachers anymore.”
But those challenges don’t stop students from still being able to achieve greatness.
“This was earned, not given,” salutatorian Jillian Patria said, of their graduation. “And as Rocky Balboa said, ‘The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.’ But after spending this last seven to twelve years with you all, I know we don’t need rainbows to keep moving forward. You are all going to make an impact on this world, and I know I’m going to see you in the future and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I went to high school with them.’”