Student speaker Olivia Keller said it best: “I know that this isn’t the traditional way to graduate, but then again, when has our class ever been traditional?”
The 2020 class of Columbus Signature Academy New Tech High School graduated Friday in a prerecorded virtual ceremony that was streamed through Facebook and YouTube, a measure taken due to health and safety concerns over COVID-19.
In his speech, Principal Mike Reed noted that between them, these 76 seniors have completed more than 5,700 hours of community service, earned 966 college credits and qualified for more than $900,000 in scholarships.
“Members of the class of 2020, we are proud of who you’ve become,” Reed said. “All of you have demonstrated great perseverance, especially throughout the final quarter of your senior year. This diploma represents your determination, your work ethic, your drive to succeed. You’ve crossed the finish line, and you represented yourselves, your family and your school with pride.”
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Reed’s speech was followed by speeches from Keller, English facilitator Joe Steele, student speaker Avery Larson and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts.
Steele recalled his personal experiences with the class — how in their seventh grade year, they helped his wife’s friend, who was dying of cancer, go on a family vacation before she died, and how during their sophomore year, they created two Little Free Libraries (one at the school and one at Foundation For Youth).
He ended his speech by reciting the short poem “It Couldn’t Be Done” by Edward Albert Guest. The final stanza, in particular, provided a poignant message:
“There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That ‘cannot be done,’ and you’ll do it.”
Like Steele, Larson reminisced about the class’s time together — which included everything from cardboard boats to a chemistry rap to writing encouraging things on superhero capes.
“I can speak for myself and my friends by saying that, when we came into CSA as freshmen, we felt like we were on top of the world,” he said. “Someone probably should’ve put us in our place, to be honest. We all started this school because we wanted to. No one told us we had to go here or go there, and this is why I believe that this school is so special. All of us wanted to be here.”
The next speaker was Roberts, who noted in his speech that this school year has been unlike any other, saying that, in the words of John Lennon, these have been “strange days indeed.”
“Regardless of the challenges we all have faced during these past few weeks, now is a time of celebration,” he continued. “It is a time to celebrate the many friendships developed, to celebrate the multitude of memories created, to celebrate important lessons learned, to celebrate perseverance and fortitude demonstrated, to celebrate the end of this stage of a life while also celebrating the beginning of another.”
Roberts ended his speech with a reference to the Imagine Dragons song “On Top of the World” and concluded, “Graduates. Celebrate with your friends and family members. You have earned it. You’re on top of the world.”
After Roberts’ speech, counselor Josh Giebel announced the graduates as their names and pictures appeared onscreen and the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” played in the background. Then Larson led the graduates in turning their tassels from right to left, and cheers broke out from a prerecorded video call full of CSA New Tech faculty and staff.
There is little that can be said to fully encompass the bittersweet nature of graduation, especially in times such as these. Still, each speaker conveyed a fondness for the past and hope for the future.
“I truly believe our class is the generation that will change the world,” Keller said. “So let today be the start of that change.”
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Number of graduates: 76
Student speakers: Olivia Keller and Avery Larson
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The Columbus Signature Academy New Tech High School graduation video is available on Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
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