001e e e for [Music] for e [Music] welcome to the 2017 commencement celebration for aspid Valley High School my name is rubiana montio and my name is Matthew Donner please stand remove your hats and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge algian to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please be seated thank you would like to introduce Mr George Stone principal of Aspen Valley High School so there's an inside joke to the seated thing um we tried to practice synchronized sitting during our rehearsal the other day and getting 21 seniors to all sit at exactly the same time is a challenge at any rate it's my pleasure to welcome you all
002to Aspen Valley High School's 2017 commencement congratulations to you our seniors I would like to open our ceremony today with a story that I believe best characterizes you our graduating class of 20 17 one day a farmer's horse fell down a well the animal cried piously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do finally he decided the animal was old he really needed to cover the well anyway and it just wasn't worth retrieving the horse so he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him and they all grabbed a shovel and they all began shoveling dirt into the well at first the horse realized what was happening and cried horribly he was being buried and then to everyone's amazement he quieted down a few shovel loads later the farmer
003was curious as why there was no more sound and he finally looked down the well and he was astonished at what he saw with every shovel of dirt that hit its back the horse was doing something amazing he' just shake it off and take a step up as the farmers neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal he continued to shake it off and continued to take a step up pretty soon everyone was amazed when the horse just stepped over the edge of the well and trotted off you guys have all had your share of dirt shoveled on you over the years part of the reason that you're here today is that you learned the same trick that the horse knew the trick to getting out of the well is to shake it
004off and take a step up for each of you all of those steps up have led to this moment I want to say thank you we're proud of what you are making of yourselves and we are grateful for what you have contributed to Aspen Valley during your time here joining us today in support of our graduates are the District 20 Board of Education represent Representatives from The District 20 Administration and the staff of Aspen Valley High School finally I want to recognize the people without whom none of us would be here would the parents and Guardians and loved ones of our seniors please stand we thank you for the gift of your children and now I want to introduce the wonderful staff of Aspen Valley High School please please hold your applause until the entire
005staff has been introduced staff please stand as I introduce you Mr Ryan Bailey science stuco and PE Mrs Lisa Beano mathematics and programming Mrs Kylie caraveo language arts Mrs Heather Chavez science Mrs Kelly Daniel foreign language and business Mrs Kathy deeron our school social worker Mrs Kathy Eis beers our school psychologist Mr Eugene fiser social studies I'm really happy to be able to say Mama Joe is here Mama Joe where you at there she is Mr Doug Fritz Mrs Suzanne geislinger our school secretary and counselor secretary she's not here today because she's marrying off her daughter Mr Peter Hamlin language Ang arts and social studies Mr Craig L mathematics Miss Chris mang social studies and language arts Mara meniki who has been standing in as our registar where you at Mara Miss Courtney Morrison our
006counselor tamarah Padilla our librarian Diane feifer our bookkeeper Mr Jeff Pitman all things technology Mr Gary seavor our counselor Jenny Stevenson language arts drama and literacy Karen waserman sped RTI tag art photography yearbook stuff um a lot of stuff um I noticed that I have a couple other people I want to recognize Miss Aspen SMI Smith our instructional math Pera and Mr Randy Thomas who runs the middle school for me uh did Nicole make it all right and finally I want to introduce my wife Shauna and my mom who has been to every single one of our graduation ceremonies except for one since I became principal she flies out from Wisconsin every year thanks Mom for coming out you can be seated staff thank you um students you know it's pretty special when you got
007this many people backing you up it's my pleasure now to introduce Dr Mark hatchel superintendent of Academy School District 20 Dr hatchel began his career as in education 30 years ago as a student teacher at Air Academy High School he graduated from CSU in 1982 where he earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and he earned his master's degree from CSU in 1985 Dr hatchel did his doctoral studies at the University of Colorado and earned his doctor degree in 1989 um we are truly fortunate to have a superintendent who so steadfastly supports alternative education in this District I want to introduce to you Dr Mark hatchel let me first say on behalf of my bosses the academy 20 Board of Education congratulations to the class of 2017 I also want to personally thank Leo Walters
008who's been on my student advisory committee for the last two years today is a special event a passage in a person's life you've been Trailblazers you've not taken the traditional route you've gone your own way and you've reached the end of your Academy District 20 time we are proud of you and we wish each and every one of you the very best for your future I've had many opportunities this year to go to Aspen Valley this year including yesterday when I went there and like no one was there because you were here doing your practice and I can't tell you how impressed I've been with your school and this senior class in particular great job a class of 2017 you've accomplished a lot but before you leave us I want to ask you to do
009three things number one thank your family for all they've done for you number two when you get a chance thank your teachers and number three we ask that please during this end of the year school celebration season be safe and make wise decisions it's now my honor to introduce the Academy School District 20 Board of Education our president Mr Glenn stre vice president miss CAC [Applause] Johnson treasure Mr Larry [Applause] Borland director Miss Linda Van Mater director Miss Katherine Bullock Air Force Academy liazon Colonel Troy Harding also from Central Administration Deputy superintendent Mr Tom Gregory and assistant superintendant former teacher at this school Dr Jim Smith it is now my pleasure to once again introduce Miss Linda Van Mater she is the Aspen Valley board liaison Miss Van Mater grew up in Illinois the land
010of humidity she she graduated as co- valedictorian from D Institute of Technology she obtained a master's degree in computer information systems from the University of Denver she was then a pioneer as one of the first women to work as a programmer then systems analyst then project manager at uswest Miss Van Mater and her husband have three children all Academy 20 graduates she's an Avid Reader and actively involved in her church her hobbies include Golf and music and she sings in a local band called Cornerstone Miss fan Mater thank you we'll fix this there we go is that better good morning Aspen Valley class of 2017 you made it and I am honored to celebrate with you each of you has taken a unique journey to this place but today we celebrate your arrival together I
011spend some time recently at Aspen Valley with Abby Leah Alysa and Elena to learn a little bit about this class and what has contributed to your success I want to thank these young women for taking time out to talk with me they did their best to represent all of you and I hope you will agree they did it well and uh boy did I learn a lot just kidding it was all good um we talked mostly about your teachers Mr Bailey's jokes and and his legendary singing Miss Caro's passion and Miss be and her bungee jumping Barbies and speaking of interesting things that have happened at Aspen Valley when I asked These Fine students what they would remember most about their High School experience they mentioned getting hit in the head with an orange fainting
012in Mr Bailey's forensic science class and getting a black eye the second week of school Mr Stone if I were you I would avoid Dr hatchel for the next few days but in addition to those rather interesting memories these students agreed they would remember Aspen Valley as a big family A place they can always call home their advice for next year's freshman never take Aspen Valley for granted one student said Aspen taught her family isn't always people who are related to you another said Aspen saves lives literally wow the thing that stood out to me was how the conversation kept returning to the impact your teachers have made in all your lives these young ladies were quick to say that every teacher at Aspen Valley really connects with at least one student that they bring
013in their experiences from larger schools and customize their teaching creating unique fun ways to learn that they really care one of you said teachers here know they have a chance to make a difference and it's obvious to me they do not take that opportunity for granted so now class of 2017 as you prepare to leave the security of your home at Aspen Valley high school and enter a new world of opportunity and all it offers I hope you will take with you the lessons your teachers worked so hard to instill in you no I'm not talking about math science English or social studies although it would be nice if you remember most of that I'm talking about how to change the world years before you were born in 1993 back in the Dark Ages Charles
014Barkley now a well-known NBA analyst was at the height of his career as a basketball star in an effort to demonstrate his singular dedication to the game Sir Charles proudly proclaimed in Nike advertisement I am not a role model those of us of a certain age may remember the Firestorm of criticism prompted by that statement and the vigorous debate it sparked about the moral obligations of athletes and celebrities unfortunately there are still many people today who believe they have no responsibility to be a role model unless they choose it but I believe they're wrong we are all role models of some sort none of us really has a choice in the matter so I ask as you prepare to leave here today not will you be a role model but what kind of role model
015will you be some of you may be thinking if I'm not rich or famous how can I change the world well contrary to popular opinion you do not need a platform a microphone or an a position with an impressive title to do it you do not need to be trending on social media Media or have a huge number of likes or retweets to make an impact you simply need to decide what kind of role model you want to be and live it according to author and Speaker John Maxwell it is simpler than you think he said when you intentionally use your everyday life to bring about positive changes in the lives of others you begin to live a life that matters sounds a bit like what your teachers have done for you doesn't it when
016you leave here today what kind of life will you choose to live will you spread joy and warmth will you use your education to teach others will you help those who haven't had the opportunities you've had will you reach out to people and get involved show them you care show them they're special like your teachers did for you maybe even Save a Life in other words what kind of role model will you be me the choice is up to you but I have every confidence you will choose well because Aspen Valley has changed you and that will lead you to change the world for someone else congratulations class of 2017 best wishes God bless you [Applause] thank you Mrs Van Mater um at each graduation members of the senior class are asked if any of
017them wish to speak this year we had a bumper crop and some very talented speakers and very talented writers so I'm excited to introduce them to you first I would like to introduce miss Cameron Eaton not gonna make fun of you oh you guys can hear me I forgot that so you get this weird feeling when you're about to graduate like this place isn't as bad as you thought it was maybe it's because of the unknown that happens right after we get hold of these diplomas today or the fact that who we are right now is not who we're going to be forever it's a not knowing what happens next in this sequel we call life like is Miss Pace still going to force us to promise her we'll be safe this weekend while containing
018uncomfortable good eye contact is Mr Stone still going to wear these God afo sweaters that have scarred our eyes for years who am I kidding he'll never retire those but we're all so desperate to read what happens next that I feel like we've almost missed what's happening right now I'm not going to lie I'm scared what's behind those doors after today that I've almost forgotten to enjoy this moment that's why I decided to write this speech granted I wrote it a week before graduation but I say I procrastinated the old Aspen Valley Way one last time senior year has been less than enjoyable for me I've made choices that have isolated me I stopped enjoying the moment and I so badly wanted to rush life so as I stand in front of everyone today I
019want to address the fact that I did not do high school right Aspen I'm sorry for the feelings I've hurt the drama I might have been a part of or even if I just left a bitter taste in your mouth I'm not perfect but learn from my mistakes don't let the fear of being different keep you from being you don't get so caught up in what others have to say about you don't lose moments you can't get back high schools I was going to say great in my speech but it's okay and you can find amazing people if you're willing to take down your judgment for example many of you might remember Macy Welch if you attended ask last year she was a senior that was repeating her second year because she simply didn't have
020enough graduation credits I immediately judged Macy as a druggy or stupid but she was none of these things she was kind and she was funny and she taught me to see the humor when life knocks you down Aspen is a great school and you're lucky if you get to be a part of it if you were like me neglected to see that it's most likely because you had the wrong attitude and while you're sitting there not changing anything you're missing out on moments that you can't get back seniors our future should be bright but like our brief four years in high school what makes a moment valuable is that they don't last forever so don't waste at Living someone else's life make yours count for something fight for what makes you you even if it's
021the unpopular decision it's easy on days like these to feel high on life but there are still still days to come that are dark and we feel lost just remember this on days like those that you are greater than the things you suffer with look around you these are the people who have helped us all get here to S um succeed or hold up celebrate that's what a normal human would have said they've helped us celebrate to get here so thank them I know it feels like we're saying goodbye but we will carry a piece of each other wherever we go if you like it or not and this would not be a graduation speech if I didn't end it with some cheesy quote that we all know so like Jim Ron once said be
022strong but not rude be kind but not weak be bold but not bully be humble but not timid and be proud but not arrogant thank you and now I would like to invite my fellow senior Sarah K to share her thoughts with us [Applause] okay um so to start I'm not gonna I'm just going to warn you here I might burst into tears so just bear with me it was the first day of school my freshman year I was sitting in the car on the way shaking I was even whiter than my usual bleach color I was visibly Terri ified Imagining the worst possible scenarios like a crowd of angry teens were just going to trample me because everyone hates freshman um to quote a great woman my older sister change good or good or
023bad can be scary as we go through this change graduating some of us are going to college others getting jobs moving out trying so hard to adult we all this little girl or gender neutal youth sorry trying to be politically correct sitting in the backseat crying and shaking praying we all make it out alive but we will because in case you haven't heard us Aspen kids have quite the reputation of being tough and we can make it out of anything at Aspen I had many experiences that shaped me I was a part of an all girl stuco my junior year that taught me that the amount of effort you put into something is exactly what you get out of it I was a mentor to two freshmen where I got to see two young boys
024learn the ropes of Aspen and also find themselves I've been here for four years so I won't go on and on but there were many more experiences with many other people that have changed me greatly I have so many people in my life that I have to thank and I know we're doing the thank yous but I still had to give them a shout out in my speech my older sister who mentored me through my entire freshman year my best friend Abby Dennis who's graduating with me here today uh for being by my side and going through this journey with me um my friend Brooke Milner for helping me with my faith and staying true to myself this year my parents for supporting me and loving me through my craziness and my awful phases and
025my teachers for understanding me and oftentimes being my second parents without all these experiences and people I wouldn't be who I am today and I know that even in the next four years i' when I've gone through a whole new set of changes I'll hold on to these experiences near and dear to me I'm going to miss my Aspen Valley family with all my heart thank you [Applause] and now I would like to invite my friend and fellow senior Alyssa Ross up here to share her thoughts with us [Applause] all right hi so yeah I'm Melissa Ross and I've written this speech about a hundred times before I decided it was good enough and I'll be honest with you I finished it last night but hey if I can get away with two years of
026straight A with last minute work I can find awesome graduation speech so let's begin shall we if you've ever met me you know I love telling stories so here let's tell a story there once was a girl let's call her Alysa now Alyssa started her junior year at a school called Asen Valley shy calm and quiet so quiet in fact that she didn't talk to anybody well her quiet junior year ended and she came back to Asen Valley a senior talkative outgoing Advent friendly and probably annoying what happened who really knows but something changed her view of opening up to the people at this school maybe it was simply a change of heart or maybe it was this magical school that Sprout so many memories that it's hard to become hard not to become close
027with everyone and become a family a family where the teachers act as mentors and even parents they offered a helping hand because they saw the diamond underneath and they were polishing you until you shined they offered their time and listen to you when you needed to rant about your High School drama that had you convinced the world is crumbling down they offered support when we didn't even believe in ourselves I'm talking about the times Miss B told us you got this and all the pre-cal students just looked at her like you could not be more wrong when in fact she was right just like any other parent now now it's for the students the brothers and sisters of the school the ones that made us laugh the ones that never let us make stupid decisions
028well at least not alone the ones that show you blue Gatorade has the potential to save your life the ones that fail at giv me advice and instead say I'm not so good at advice can I interest you in a sarcastic comment the ones like Elena and Leah who promise you that you will not end up in the lake when they try to take you on the raft but within the next 30 seconds you're completely submerge into the fish infested Abyss the ones that flirt with you all year but have you convinced you're in the friend [Music] zone okay the ones that vote you prom queen and make a lifelong dream come true and even the ones that share your concern for Mr Fisher's Health after Trump was elected president these are the people that
029highlight Asen Valley and really bring the atmosphere of the school together so thank you to the teachers of Asen Valley for inspiring hope igniting in imagination and instilling of Love of learning to us and thank you to the students of of Aspen Valley for making the memories worth remembering the memories are forever and as we all graduate and go on to the scary Life After High School where we actually have to adult whether we be attending college jumping into a career or chasing dreams come visit me as a Disney princess and we can reminisce about the times and memories we made at Asen Valley not just the sleepless nights we spent working on projects or the grades we got but the memories that last a lifetime and I hope you notice how much you've changed
030since you started your time at this school and I hope you learned to tell your story of ason Valley just like that girl Alissa from the beginning the one you begged to talk and now you can't get her to shut up not even at graduation so congratulations class 2017 and good luck in this thing called adulthood May the force be with [Applause] you and now I'd like to introduce my fellow senior and friend Leah [Music] Walters all right so a lot of tall people were up here all right so you know we practiced a speech yesterday and I got to say it's a lot more intimidating with all of you in the audience okay so I wrote this speech about a month ago and looked back on it a few days before I was due
031to graduate and realized something was missing from it I've never been the person to shout out my real struggles or be too personal but I need you to know that I wouldn't be here today in this position if it weren't for Aspen Valley High School school if you know me you know I have a reputation here for speaking bluntly uh and I know that there are times when I should hold my tongue but this isn't one of those times I have something that I know all the graduating seniors and all the students of Aspen Valley need to hear I love this school with all that I am and as many times as you hear kids Grumble about Aspen they're scared to tell you the truth they will miss it when they no longer have it
032I know it's not all the kids or all the time but we've all heard kids Grumble and let's be honest I have too in my moments of frustration I grumbled all the time we all get frustrated and we tend to lash out but there's a danger in that because when we lash out we start to fall into the world of stereotypes stereotypes create some of the most powerful words we ever use we use them to insult label and attack others but we also use use them to Shield our own insecurities you see if we hide behind the stereotypes pointed at us we don't have to stand up to the bullies that created them in the opposite way we use and create stereotypes so that we don't have to understand other people until Aspen helped me
033transform I never really understood that the majority of this room knows that to a vast amount of people Aspen's name is riddled with awful stereotypes they call us the dropouts the druggies the messed up and just too dumb for a normal school I was one of the people that believed it I didn't want to try to look Beyond those names and get to the truth about the kids of that tiny school it didn't seem worth it it came to a point where Aspen was where I needed to be it took me a total of 20 minutes at this school to realize that those stereotypes were wrong or at least incomplete yes all of us had problems and struggled at some point but that didn't make us bad kids the truth of the matter is that
034Aspen is home to some of the most resilient known they create the best school environment I and probably anyone has ever gotten the privilege to attend so one of my favorite memories describes the truth of Aspen last year at the talent show a very brave student sang a song This student had overcome so many obstacles to graduate and never gave up in the years she was at Aspen never once did I hear anyone say anything against her everyone adored her when she got up to sing halfway through through the whole school started to sing with her in a show of loyalty and support it was the one of the most touching memories I have of this place the song was Whitney Houston's I will always love you in that moment I think everyone felt a
035connection to each other and no matter how different we all seemed we would always share a bond created by Aspen if I hadn't put aside the stereotypes I never would have found a place I belonged Aspen allows everyone to be who they are without fear of ridicule or shame a place where the teachers actually care whether we succeed and truly want us to have an amazing future a place everyone calls a big family and since I have seven older siblings I know exactly what a big family looks like Forest Whitaker said stereotypes do exist but we have to walk through them I never understood that until I decided to attend Aspen we all walk through those deceitful stereotypes and because of it we found a home and a way to start the Bright Futures that
036lie ahead of all of us this brings me back to what I was saying earlier about the way we sometimes talk about our home the thing about home is that sometimes you take it for granted you walk into this school and know that you're safe you have everyone behind you cheering you on you have a support system like no other and yet you still Grumble about it I think it's because that here we are challenged to be the best versions of ourselves our bad habits are channeled into something great we learn and we fight for who who we know we can become the funny thing about home sometimes you don't realize how special it is until you're about to leave it behind seniors you get this the rest of you might take you a few
037more years and that's okay but when you walk through those doors you get the ability to create the home that you want and the home that you deserve I guarantee once you're in that front World wearing a black gown that's just too big even though it's the smallest size granted and getting ready to leave your home behind you will realize how much you will miss this place so here's my challenge to the room take the lesson Aspen has taught us about looking Beyond stereotypes walk through them and see how clear your real path can be without the words of others to mislead you all right and since he did it to me at the GPA awards ceremony please welcome Jorge I'm just kidding please welcome George thank you alen oh not Lisa anymore thank you
038Leah hi while she's getting to her chair yeah I know I think I saw that brave woman who's saying that uh I Will Always Love You songs standing in the back is that you Stephanie that's one of our graduating seniors all right why is this mic so low for over a decade now I've stood before graduating classes at Aspen Valley and I've talked about how proud we all are of you I've then gone on to talk about each student individually sharing the lessons that each has has taught us during their time at Aspen Valley it's funny how Traditions come to be but this has become an Aspen Valley tradition the sharing of you you see each of you will be receiving a diploma today for meeting District's graduation requirements these requirements are primarily academic and
039you are to be commended for achieving them but your journey has been about so much more than just academics and you have all become so much more than just skilled students as you have learned and grown so too have all of us who have been on this journey with you each of you in your own way has created this wonderful Community we call Aspen Valley more than any principal more than any teacher it has been you who have built this very special place prony every school and every school year has those moments that play out like a tel Nolla or or a soap opera um those times when the full moon falls on a Friday and the members of a community go through moments of Madness one of the things I most value about you
040is what a low drama llama you are um you the toughest challenge I had with you while you were at Aspen Valley was getting you to show up for class on time otherwise you've been pretty quiet although I'm sure your friends would say otherwise um as I read through your yearbook inspiration and your your quote um your desire to spark change in the world I found myself thinking of a a quote by Stephen Hawking step Hawking said that quiet people often have the loudest Minds until I read your quote I never knew that that passion was there inside of you just quietly waiting My Hope for you is that you take that passion that you have inside and do use it to transform the world Eddie I remember last year when you were one of
041the leaders of a small team who planned and directed our talent show and I remember you were so nervous at first and you were so clearly out of your comfort zone and you and your team came to my office I think like 30 times in the last week asking well can we do this or could you do that for us and just trying to find out how to do this thing called leading and um he just sweated all the details as we got closer to the show you got a little more conf confident some of your fellow students even said that you got a little bit bossy yeah and then the big day came and the show was amazing um what a wonderful lesson about learning to lead and since you like hipop I wanted
042to recognize you with a quote from uh an artist from my generation LL Cool J old school um LL Cool J reminds us that you have to always continue to strive no matter how hard things get no matter how troubled you feel no matter how tough things get no matter how many times you lose you just keep trying that's some good advice Sarah I've known you since you're in seventh grade I think you were 13 then and since the first day that I met you you have always been an old soul even when you were in seventh grade you had Poise and fol us and this remarkable ability to turn away from unhealthy situations and relationships as you grew you faced other very personal challenges yet you held fast to your goals for yourself now
043you graduate as this calm insightful and wise beyond your years young woman you're a shining example of how if we know what we want and we can eliminate those things that distract us from our goals then nothing is beyond our grasp Elena we're animal people you and me um even if your entire dog is roughly the size of my dog's head um so as I was thinking about you I was looking around at different quotes one of my favorite authors is Walt Whitman and I found a quote from Whitman um that I think is both captures you but it's also good advice for for All Humans um Whitman says I think I can turn and live with the animals they are so plaed and self-contained I stand and look at them long and long don't
044start because then you'll get me starting I stand and look at them long and long they don't sweat and whine about their condition they don't lie awake at night in the dark and weep for their sins not one is dissatisfied not one is demented with the Mania of owning things I think that describes you pretty well and I think it's also good advice for the rest of us Abby you are one of the kindest gentlest students that I have ever known here at Aspen Valley you have quietly modeled peacefulness in spirit words and action sometimes it takes an insane amount of strength self-control and peace to be able to resist the drama of our world and you've done this consistently you're going to need that peaceful gentle nature once you start wrangling elementary kids um
045I have no doubt at all that you're going to become a wonderful elementary teacher beloved by her students um and I can think of no better role model for our young kids um I do want to offer you one piece of advice it fits perfectly with your gentle nature um Persian poet Sadi advised that if one uses a sweet tongue courtesy and gentleness one may manage to guide an elephant by a hair Matt I remember when you first came to Aspen your health was so fragile that we started with just two classes on Silver days um it wasn't long before you got stronger and you were up to a full-time schedule um and you've been gold ever since you know you've been a rock star um Haruki Mami set of adversity this is a storm
046one for you Haruki Mami set of adversity once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through how you managed to survive you won't even be sure whether or not the storm is really over but one thing is certain when you come out of the storm you won't be the same person that walked in that's what the storm is all about you've walked through your storms you stood on stage here today all right Storm's over for you I believe the forecast is sunny and Mild cam Ren eaten boy ziping an up and down Journey you know and I was trying to think about what to say about you and I I kept thinking about that Facebook relationship status it's complicated and I think that's you um as your time here comes to
047an end and this quote really Christian Rogers observed I've died a thousand deaths each time Reinventing myself brighter stronger purer than before from the midst of Darkness I became my own source of light your comments today and this quote remind us that the most important love to have is the love that we have for ourselves Nathan Axel Kingdom Hearts axel from Kingdom Hearts he advised if you have a dream don't wait act for as long as I've known you you have been an artist you've been a writer you've been a gaming fanatic and you have this dream of of packaging all of that into a career um you're paying your dues you've deeply immersed yourself in in learning and practicing your art and practicing your writing um you've taken the steps to prepare yourself to
048pursue your dreams so as Axel and kingd Kingdom Hearts said I want to remind you and your classmates you all have dreams when you leave today walk out that door and start acting on them Carson in her novel divine secrets of the yaya Sisterhood author Rebecca Wells observes you know some people when they're together they somehow make you feel more hopeful make you feel like the world is not the insane place that it really is as I've watched you over the years at Aspen Valley I've always been impressed with how many people call you friend I've also been impressed and occasionally concerned with how far you will go to support those that you care for there's a part of you that is very much like the superheroes that you admire and play online in the
049DC Universe um there's this part of you that is a superhero and like all superheroes your relationships can be a little bit complicated your journey discovering the boundaries and balance of friendship provides lessons for all of us Maddie when I think about you I think about this Old Cherokee legend about life an Old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life and he says a fight is going on inside me and the boy sort of looks at him quizzically and he explains it's a terrible fight and it's between two wolves one is evil he's anger Envy sorrow regret self-pity guilt resentment and inferiority the old Cherokee continued the other is good he is joy peace love hope kindness empathy and compassion the same fight is going on inside you too and inside every other person the
050boy looked up at his grandfather and he asked which wolf will win and the old Cherokee said the one you feed you've always been a solid student but your passion lies in the Physical Realm you're a lot like I was in high school um and the thing is and I've learned this and and you're going to learn it too the same qualities that you bring to the gym that any athlete needs to be successful will help you succeed in all aspects of your life you know persistence excuse me in life as in bodybuilding ambition is the path to success persistence is the vehicle that takes you there your commitment to your fitness goals will someday be the same commitment that you will bring to your success as a professional and to relationships with people you
051love Stevie you're actually one of the hardest people I to to write about yeah it was It was kind of weird because I figured it'd be easy and it wasn't but then it was because because you're just a very diverse woman you're you're you're part rocker you're part sass you're part inappropriate humor um you know you're a solid student you've always been drama free you're a fan of horror and Gothic things you're also a loyal friend and the mic's going away you're also a loyal friend um sarcastic and kind at the same time you're all these things wrapped up into a package and and here's the thing here's what I admire about you um you're all of those things which might seem a little chaotic but you're also incredibly steady and reliable um you show
052us that we can have really rich lives and friendships and and all kinds of things going on in spite of whatever challenges that we might be facing you remind us that there's a whole lot of Adventure out there just waiting for us to join the fun Brenan you're probably sitting there waiting what I was going to say about you there were times earlier in the the year where you your parents all of us were worried that we might not make it to this day and and it was touch and go for a while there and then something changed you you you made some decision and and the choices that you made changed the trajectory of your school year and and help bring you to this day you remind us that there's really no wrong time
053to make the right decision and that it's in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped Hannah you were kind of hard to come up with something for because I just haven't gotten to know you that well you came to us six months left in your senior year and you were focused and and knew what you needed to do and and just went about doing it and um and there were so few classes that you needed that we really just didn't see very much of you um what we did see though and this is when I really thought about it almost every time that I saw you your sister was nearby and I saw hugs I saw handholding I saw you guys chatting like you've been lifelong friend well you have been lifelong friends
054um and and and I guess that's what what I'm going to remember about you is the importance of family and the bigger lesson for all of us is we have our biological families but then we also have our Aspen Valley family and I think you know watching you and your sister give us pretty good role models for what a healthy family relationship ought to look like so rubiana when I think of you I also think about relationships and family um and I can't help think of you without thinking of your your parents um and a family who loves their daughters so much that for four years they've thrown a celebratory Feast for the whole school to celebrate her birthday and and the kind of cool thing about that is it takes your biological family and
055our Aspen Valley family and blends them and makes them bigger and stronger because of their involvement so I want to thank you I also want to thank your parents um but then I also think about your journey to Aspen Valley and relationships and making friends losing friends making new friends remaking old friends losing old friends remaking new friends what a WHL and the one thing that and I can think of the many times you're in my office crying because one friendship or another had kind of Fallen apart and the lesson that you have for us and I think the one that the thing that's most special about you your heart has always been open you cry when you need to cry you hurt when you need to hurt and then you open your heart back
056up to make more friends and make new friends and that's such a wonderful characteristic and thank you for that Gwen you already know what I'm going to tell because I had to come make sure I had it right um we were teaching this concept of taking a meta moment um when we're emotionally disregulated um and we're trying to teach it to the student body and I wanted to create a strong emotional response on the part of the student body I wanted to emotionally disregulated them so then we could learn how to re-regulate and so we had a big assembly and I told the entire student body that we were going to get rid of grade days there would just be no more grade days we got an emotional response you know um in you that
057emotional response was stronger than most in you it hurt because you depend on grade days and they were support for you and I thought I was just creating a teachable moment what I didn't know was that I had hurt you and you know one of the most important things we can do is have the courage to speak truth to power one of the most important things we can do is advocate for ourselves and so I remember when you came to my office and you're like Mr Stone we need to talk and you sat down and in a heartfelt but very mature way explained to me how I had made you feel okay that was it was beautiful and I guess the message for the rest of us is never be afraid to speak truth to
058power never be afraid to advocate for your needs thank you Gwen Devin do you remember the drama days early way back yeah there was a time when you somehow found yourself sucked into everybody else's drama all right and it was exhausting and stressful and it got in the way of of your of your own of your goals all right and then a Time came and you just made a decision you're like I'm getting off the drama bus and I'm gonna say goodbye to the people driving it and you just literally just turned and walked away from it and and some of your friends back then stopped talking to you you know um but you were happier and so your lesson for all of us is it's okay to respect yourself enough to say I deserve
059peace it's okay to respect yourself enough to walk away from people or things that prevent you from attaining your goals and a sense of inner peace Tyler Stanley Stanley said everybody learns differently and everybody gets to a certain point from a different direction that's pretty much you you tried every differently and you tried every different direction and you eventually got to this point um you also remind us of another Stanley concept Heroes Have vulnerabilities every Superman has his Kryptonite all right but for most Heroes the desire to help others gives them the strength to carry on Tyler long after you've left Asma Valley the one thing that people will remember is that you are always willing to help anybody you went down to the Middle School a million times to help down there I can't
060I lost count of the number of times you've helped me with things and and in that sense you're like all heroes you know you have your weaknesses but it's your desire to help and be helpful that truly drives you princess Alyssa actually no it's not princess it's Queen right yes okay um Alyssa Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty observed that if you dream a thing more than once it's sure to come true you dreamed of a beauty in the Beast prom we had a beauty in the Beast prom you dreamed of being a princess you became became a queen you dream of going to Florida and the Disney college program and I'm betting you've dreamed that dream more than once I'm pretty sure it's going to come true here's my dream for you I hope that
061your life after Aspen Valley is filled with people who radiate as much hope and joy as you have during your time here you've made us better and I hope you meet people who do that for you Ben I'm actually kind of mad at you and not just for what happened the other day I'm kind of mad at you because I spend most of your 10th and 11th grade years threatening to kick you out of school because you wouldn't do your work and then you become a senior you know and you're not really in school that much you're college and you've only got a few classes and yet you become this mature student thing passing your classes getting your work in I get the missing work report Ben's never on it you know and it's just
062not fair that I have to spend two years kicking your butt up and down the hallway only to have you get your act together and then disappear so I can't enjoy that part of it um but I suppose that's how it works as parents and teachers and staff and principles we pour our love and support into our kids only to have them grow up and leave us um you're a great example of our hope our hope that once we've done all we can do to prepare you our kids for life that you leave us prepared to start your adult lives with a nervous but hopeful smile and finally Leah your next step quote in the yearbook is that you want to become somebody that you can be proud of I want to say to you
063that you already are you see success is a process for all of us and as long as you are making consistent progress toward your goals sincerely giving your best effort more often than not then you're already successful and you deserve to feel proud of yourself the thing that I admire about you is your resilience you have cycled through more than a few ups and downs during your time at Aspen and every time you fell down you got back up and every time you took a backward step you regrouped and took two forward steps and along the way you always found time to lift up others and contribute to making this school a better place you have been a leader and a positive force here here you've given back to this community and we are going
064to miss your energy and your leadership you and your fellow graduating classmates can be proud of who you are you can also be proud of who you are becoming and that Journey will occupy the rest of your lives you have all helped make Aspen Valley the very special place that it is and I thank you all [Applause] and now Mrs Van Mater we get to do some fun stuff it is with the greatest of Pride that I present to you the members of the class of 2017 I hereby certify that these young men and women have met the requirements for graduation from Aspen Valley high school and Academy School District 20 and they are recommended for their diplomas on behalf of the Board of Education of Academy School District 20 I accept with pride and
065pleasure the 2017 graduating class of Aspen Valley High School Mr Stone thank you your faculty your staff for an outstanding job staff members please prepare to greet our seniors as they receive their diplomas [Applause] and where's Peter oh there's Peter no you ready I get the extreme honor of reading some notes that the seniors wrote I get to start with pronti ahed and prony says thank you Mrs Stevenson for always guiding me and continuously listening to me I would not have made it through without your help thank you Mr stone for taking me in and not kicking me out despite my excessive tardies Vincent Eddie Castillo first off I would like Vincent says first off I would like to thank my mom and dad for always supporting me even through the most difficult and awkward
066situations and for spending the long hours of the night help helping me get through all my work thank you Mr Hamlin for always being a mentor that would send me on the right track and to Mrs Chavez for Lending her ear and being a friend throughout High School finally thank you to my friends who Stood Beside Me no matter what decisions I made or paths I chose I will never forget what you all have done for me Sarah cron says thank you Dad for always pushing me to be better thank you mom for being my first and favorite teacher in life I would like to thank my older sister for guiding me through Aspen Valley and through the last 17 years of my life Abby thank you for being more than a friend a best
067friend but a sister and finally thank you to my teachers at Aspen Valley for being second parents to me through these four [Applause] years Elena [Applause] Roa and Elena says first I would like to thank you all thank you to all of my friends and families for supporting me through every step of my high school experience thank you mom dad and my amazing boyfriend Brandon for pushing me to my full potential thank you to all of as the Aspen Valley staff for just being awesome people thank you especially Mrs Beano and Mrs waserman for helping me understand math life and for putting putting up with our terrible classes I love you [Applause] guys Abby Dennis and Abby says I want to thank my mom for always being there when I need her to be I
068also want to thank Sarah for being there to get me through high school thank you Mrs waserman for always having faith that I can graduate on time finally just thanks to all the teachers and my family for helping me get to the point where my life is [Applause] now Matthew Donner Matt says I want to thank all the teachers and staff at Aspen Valley especially Mr Hamlin and Mrs waserman for always being there to help I also want to thank my mom and dad for supporting me on this journey through High School [Applause] Cameron [Music] [Applause] Eaton and ren says I would like to thank my beautiful family for being my rock I'd like to thank my nanny kids Riley and Reese for teaching me to see the good in every day to Leah and
069Elena for helping me cheat every day in pre-cal [Applause] Nathan wardo Nathan says I never thought I'd make it this far but I guess I did I'd like to thank my mom for pushing me to make sure I got this far my brother for helping me motivate to do this Mr Hamlin for reading this note and my friends for providing support for this I couldn't have done it without you also thanks to Mrs mang for keeping me on track through all of this Carson hudgin Carson says I just wanted to thank everyone who was ever there for me my teachers who made sure I got the education I needed my mom for making sure I was always prepared for whatever life threw at me and my friends who were always there for me and always
070had my back no matter what you mean more to me than you can possibly imagine thank you all Maddie Lewis Maddie says I want to thank my parents my friends Emily Sid and Anna because they have always been there for me I also want to thank the Aspen Valley staff especially Mrs waserman for always being [Applause] there Brandon [Music] [Applause] Martinez Brandon says a warm thank you to all of the staff at Aspen Valley for making my time here Unforgettable I would especially like to thank Mr Pitman for being one of my greatest friends I would like to thank you all for your help on assignments advice and nerdy conversations I would also like to thank my beautiful girlfriend Delena and my amazing family for their NeverEnding Support also a shout out to Arnold Schwarzenegger
071for never ending motivation and rules for [Applause] living Stevie mallister and Stevie says I'd like to thank my Aunt Diana and Uncle Dave for taking me in and treating me like their fifth daughter I'd like to thank my uncle Jeff for believing in me and helping me throughout my high school career I'd also like to thank my mom and dad for always being there for me with my ups and downs thank you to Ashley and Wyatt for being my best friends and for always being by my side and for being a hooligan with [Applause] me Brenan [Music] McCarthy Brennan says thank you to all the wonderful school system people here at Liberty I mean it really helped me what I meant to say was but for real thank you Aspen Valley you helped me many
072times and I am a fan even though it's a little corny I'd like to thank my friends and family thanks I'm so glad I was given the opportunities I've [Applause] had Hannah Mitchell Hanna says thank you Mom and Dad for pushing me to where I am today thank you grandmas and grandpas for always being there for me [Applause] rubiana montio rubiana says I thank my family for supporting me through my years of school for loving me through thick and thin and to my best friend Christina for supporting me through my Junior and senior years she has been there for me no matter what I thank all my teachers for helping me pass all my classes they're fantastic [Applause] gwendel and [Applause] Pike and Gwen says I want to thank my family for pushing me when
073I needed it Katie kander for unmatched sarcasm SASS and humor Mr Bailey for the continued support you have given me through all these trying years and lastly thank you God for hearing my prayers and answering them when they were needed Devin pki Devin says I would like to thank my mom for always pushing me to do my best also my dog Harley for making me a happy puppy Mommy and for being there to listen to my problems my sister Courtney for always believing in me finally my dad dad you are my rock and always had my back and showed me I could do my best at anything I put my heart to I love you guys you make me stronger every [Applause] day Tyler [Applause] putel and Tyler says I want to thank my grandpa
074for never giving up on me my mom for pushing me to the Limit and my teachers who always said I could do my best Alyssa Ross [Applause] Melissa says first I'd like to thank my family friends and dogs for being my motivators and for pushing me to do my best Julie thank you for being my soul sister and going through all life all life has thrown at me I'd also like to thank everyone else for teaching me lessons and sticking with me as I Stumble through this crazy thing called life I thank you all so much Ari Benjamin [Applause] Saxton Ben says I would like to thank all the people who were bugging me to do my work and the people who made this High School thing seem [Applause] easy Leah Walters Leah says I
075would like to thank everyone at Aspen Valley for making School feel like it was my second home I would also like to thank my teachers at Aspen Valley Mr Bailey thank you for all your devoted time and your wonderful singing and special thanks to Mrs caraveo you never gave up on me always believed in me challenged me even if it meant you doing more work I would also like to thank my family for being there forever through everything [Applause] Devon spel they spel my right hurry up should okay un shoot was UN shoot you there she goes run Leah run there we go y you guys made it all right one oh wait I'm sorry we're funny they mess we're hilarious this is why they're Clapp we're [Applause] clapping class of 2017 please stand please
076move your tassels from the left side place it on the [Applause] right we did it all righty seniors May pick up their diplomas from Mrs Morrison at Aspen Valley beginning at 1:00 thank you to the Board of Education Mrs Van Mater and Dr hatchel we would also like to send a special thanks to Leah Walters and Miss wman for the slideshow and to Mr Hamlin for the wonderful senior pictures used in the presentation underclassmen please regroup with your Puma teachers and return to school than at the same time thank you thank you [Applause] ladies and gentlemen that concludes our ceremony have a wonderful rest of your day thank you very much [Applause]