B2
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Grant Union
Graduation
Parents, teachers, administrators, friends, and the graduating class of 2021: good morning.
It is an honor to have received this opportunity to express my gratitude and reflect upon
the experiences of our last four years together. Although our senior year was anything but
ordinary, we still managed to make it through and we now get to embrace this day which is
truly ours. We made it.
Looking out at my class at this moment, I am reminded of a quote from Andy Bernard: “I
wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days, before you’ve actually left them.”
This quote from many of our favorite television shows, The Office, seems quite fitting for
our class’s current situation. Four years ago, as freshmen, we couldn’t wait to be seniors. We
couldn’t wait to dress up with our friends for Homecoming week, to cheer each other on in
the student section, to dance at the senior Prom, to go on our senior camping trip, and so
much more. We were even excited to have lockers in the senior hallway and be able to skip
to the front of the lunch line without getting in trouble. Now as we’re here receiving what
we have spent so much time working for, all I want is to go back and tell my younger self to
Abigail Lusco
just slow down; enjoy the time you have with your friends now and stop longing to skip past
these four years. You might just miss out on experiences and memories to be made with
(Valedictorian)
these wonderful people around you. You might miss out on these opportunities to have fun
before the stress of being an upperclassman sets in; before you have actual responsibilities as a student; before you have a
new scholarship due
every other week; and before you have to start deciding what the heck you’re going to do with your life. Our beginning
years of high school offer so many chances to grow and find out who we truly are, although I believe we’re all still doing this
today, and I think most of us were so anxious to get out of here that we forgot to take those chances.
So many of my favorite moments happened within the halls of Grant Union, surrounded by my fellow classmates. I remember
mornings spent huddled around lockers, trying to socialize before the bell rang for first period. I remember constantly
complaining about how many reading points we had (or didn’t have) as we rushed to find Sparknotes for books that we
procrastinated even starting. I remember frantically studying for Mr.
Lusco’s unit tests the period before we had to take them, comparing scores right after to see who did the worst (it was
usually Parker), and never quite learning that it would take real effort to pass. Although we dreaded some of these moments,
they bonded us together and gave us experiences to share. They helped us develop skills that we didn’t even know we would
need at the time. I will also remember the more fun times like jamming out
to Ms. Dougharity’s old people music during class, celebrating victories with teammates, participating in Spirit Week, and
always annoying Mr. Lusco during his lunch break. I will always remember the bouts of laughter and abundance of inside jokes
that our class has compiled over the years. I will never forget the feeling of getting dressed up to go to my first high school
dance, the rush of playing my first varsity game, or the excitement of knowing you only have one day of school left.
While reflecting on these memories, I can’t help but kick myself for not cherishing these moments sooner. Because this
year, everything we looked forward to doing had to be done six feet apart, with a mask on, or not at all. I believe we take
our high school years for granted; I know I did. We spent years looking forward to being seniors and all the excitement that
comes with it, but now our year has come and gone without all this fun we were promised. This is not to instill pity or to say
that our administrators didn’t do all they could to make this year as normal as possible; truthfully, we were quite fortunate
to be able to attend school at all. I tell you this to encourage you all to live in the moment and not take this life for granted.
know it sounds cliche, but you never know what changes are coming or what you could be missing out on if you’re constantly
looking to surpass time. So learn from our mistake; recognize that these are the moments you will long to relive years in the
future. Make the most of this time you have now with the people you love. After all, you never know when a global pandemic
will come and turn your life upside down.
There are so many people that have impacted me during my time at Grant Union. I’d like to thank my friends and family for
supporting me and always encouraging me to achieve my goals. You have pushed me to be a better person, and I am grateful.
Thank you to Mr. Gerry and our other leadership who did their best to make this year better. I’d like to thank my teachers,
Mr. Miller, Ms. Dougharity, and Mrs. Behrens for their effort in making me a better student. Thank you Ms. Shelton and Mrs.
Wright for all that you’ve done for our class. Thank you Devon Stokes, for constantly pushing me to be the best version of
myself. I’d like to express my gratitude to our wonderful little community for their constant support during
this odd year. Finally, thank you to my fellow classmates for these years that have allowed me to grow and develop as a
student and person. I cannot wait to see the directions we all go, and the paths we choose. Now is our time to show the world
what we are capable of, and the influence we can have. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2021!
Noah Blood
Quaid Brandon
Sophie Brockway
Bladen Burril
Kristin Cantrell
Levi Carpenter
Will Carpenter
Chloe Churchheus
Trevyn Coalwell
Kenna Combs
Leah Comer
Michael Dilley
Roger Gearhart
Christian Glimpse
Jordan Hall
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