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Graduation messages from Kyle and Jacob – co-valedictorians at BHS

May 29, 2020 | Education

By Jacob Isley

Throughout my career at Berthoud High School, I have not managed to pass a single year without hearing that our school is something special. There was always someone to say it, whether it was our amazing teachers or our dedicated community, and now that I have graduated, I think I finally understand what they were talking about. What makes the class of 2020 special is the balance of our persistence for success, and our dedication to each other. The combination of these two ideas creates a fragile balancing act, and I think that we have struck a perfect equilibrium.

Jacob Isley

To start on one side of the scale, I will talk a little about the class of 2020 and persistence, as I have never seen people who work harder in such a variety of different fields. Academically, our class has taken on numerous Advanced Placement, STEM, and college transfer credits throughout the years. We have won awards in everything from robotics to HAM radio club, and our National Honor Society has seen a large growth in membership just from the massive amount of amazing and hardworking students in our class. We have been leaders in our clubs and sports and have been to state or national level competitions in several fields. Just a few of these categories include agriculture, business, family and consumer sciences, cheerleading, cross-country and basketball. Across the entire board of activities, clubs, and sports at Berthoud High School, there has always been someone from the class of 2020 working their hardest to climb over that mountain of adversity and achieve greatness.

Yet, no one in our class would have been able to do it alone. In my mind, what makes us able to persist through adversity is our commitment to each other. Our class has been through it all, we’ve been to every football game, been through every test, parade, dance, performance and assembly together. We have been Peer Support Counselors or have joined clubs such as Sources of Strength and Student Council so that we can create a community for our school where everyone is welcome, and everyone can contribute. We are leaders, we are achievers, we are volunteers, and we are all friends and family. For four years, we have done all of these things as a class, and now that time is sadly coming to an end. However, this does not mean that we will not be together. Our class is persistent, intelligent, hardworking and compassionate.

These qualities ensure that we are always with each other. Together, we watched the sun of our high school career rise, and even though it is now setting, we will all remain united through the memories and lessons from our class of 2020. Congratulations everyone, you are everything I have mentioned and more.

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By Kyle Pinto

To the Graduating Class of 2020:

Kyle Pinto

First, congratulations. You’ve made it! Your twelve or more years of schooling have been completed and you can now take your next steps in life, whatever those may be. Our class has made it through quite a bit. We were born into this world during or shortly after the 9/11 crisis and we take our first steps into adulthood during this global pandemic, the likes of which the world hasn’t seen in centuries. This has been a year of unexpected events. No one would’ve thought that back before spring break we would end up having our graduation postponed until July. No one would’ve thought that in a world so advanced in technology, one microscopic semi-living organism could cause such disarray within society. But, the world will keep spinning, so we must keep spinning with it. For the first time for many of us, we experienced online schooling, virtual senior events, and social gatherings that could hardly be called social. But we still press on. Because we are the next generation, because of the hardships we’ve faced and overcome, and because of the responsibility we have to the world, now more than ever, we must, and will, press on. This pandemic will pass, we will go back to our lives as they once were, even though some people may have lost someone irreplaceable. It is in their memory especially that we must continue to live our lives. Most of us have reached the age of adulthood already. And by graduating from high school, we officially make our transition into the real world. It is our turn to shape the world the way we see fit, but we can only do it together. 

To the Berthoud Community:

These times are especially tough for small towns like ours. While large metropolitan areas like New York may have been hit the hardest with the sheer number of cases, towns like ours get hit in a different way. With the limitations on social contact and the restricted access to transportation and distribution infrastructure, our very way of life is completely changed. The gatherings we had, the events we put on, the restaurants we would visit together, and all the other little things that make our community what it is have been drastically changed. But make no mistake, these changes are only temporary. I have only had the pleasure of living within this community for just over a year, but even I know how strong the ties that bind the Berthoud community together are. We will bounce back from this, just as we have many times, and continue down our own paths together. Some of you have lived in Berthoud for your entire childhood and some of you have lived here your entire lives. Some of you would love to continue living in our beautiful little town and some of you are itching to get out of here. Whatever the case may be, you know that this pandemic is not the first nor the last challenge we will face, and it is not something we cannot overcome. Thank you for allowing me to spend my senior year with all of you. I look forward to seeing the direction that Berthoud will go in the future. 

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