001to the top of the hour now we're live so we got that oh the website okay so go right straight at 2 o'clock i'm ready [Music] all right here we go [Music] good afternoon and welcome graduates staff members families and the community of canada to today's commencement exercises for the canada high school class of 2021 i am mrs lucille sydney donato high school principal thank you for joining us today as we celebrate the class of 2021 in achieving this very significant milestone i would like to introduce donato high school's career and technical education director mrs doris nelson who will give the welcoming address [Music] school district governing board canada unified school district high school administrators inaudible high school faculty teachers and staff my colleagues parents and our distinguished graduates class of 2021 and honored guests
002my name is doris nelson my clans are my dish is i taught for 19 years as a business computer teacher and then a career technical education director for 23 years it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the donato high school commencement with mccarla roanhorse gonado unified school governing board president dr davios superintendent and mrs sydney penado high school principal i extend my warmest congratulations to all those receiving diplomas and certificates today and acknowledge the support that has helped you along the way to all the family and friends with us today and to those who could not be here in person and we're watching the ceremony or thinking of graduates as they celebrate this moment thank you to the gonado high school teachers staff and parents grandparents for the encouragement you have offered and
003in many cases for the sacrifices you have made so that your students child grandchild could earn their diploma graduates please take a moment to acknowledge all those who supported you near and far including your parents your classmates and your teachers class of 2021 what a journey we know that it has been challenging and we commend you for a job well done and for hanging in there you have customized your diploma and your pathways to express who you are and what is meaningful to you to prepare yourself for a future that matters to you and to the world we celebrate your commencement knowing that as your journey begins whether to post secondary education technical school military for employment as advocates for social justice and environment you may pursue an education profession health care profession graphic designer
004architectural drafters agricultural field culinary careers construction workers welders entrepreneurs or business leaders you will continue to serve and empower others in your own distinctive way and to live in the spirit of this place and this education as open-minded knowledge barriers as i look out to you i see both great accomplishments and great hope i see a graduate that has challenged and live at each one of us to live up to this promise and your promise you will know great happiness and see progress in your endeavors and that you will continue to be a force for the good in the world this is our heritage and this is the change that comes with your diploma this day we celebrate with you congratulations class of 2021 thank you bc [Music] so [Music] mother earth father sky i
005come before you on this special day as part of the graduating class of 2021 from gonado high school we are acknowledged by our parents family members faculty and the administrators for our academic accomplishments thus far from gonado unified school district thank you for allowing us to be a part of this educational journey in high hopes of one day becoming very successful in today's society and life's journey commitment determination and resiliency will build the foundation of a sustainable life for each one of us graduates may we continue to receive many more wonderful blessings on the path we have chosen to take into adulthood as the graduating class of 2021 we humbly come before you to request for continued guidance and support from our loved ones without them we wouldn't have reached this milestone in your name
006i pray amen good afternoon grenada hornets my name is damian edds and on behalf of class of i am honored today to welcome friends family staff faculty and alumni thank you all for being able to be here with us i know this is not how we wanted our ceremony graduation ceremony to be but it doesn't take away the greatness of today and i want to congratulate my peers on being able to make it this far like it it was very challenging we had a very terrible past year we just it was very hard and i just want to say congratulations to you guys because we did it it was it took a while but we did it and we came and we just like conquered it and i just really want to say congratulations to
007you guys like it it was not easy it definitely was not easy and you know we have fought strong and we have fought hard together from our very first pandemic going through the worst of it and it just makes it that much more emotional that much more raw that much more better to be proud of yourselves and you know we went from our first pandemic to being having to be okay with our last experience being taken away from us we didn't have a normal high school year we didn't have our last football game we didn't have our last walk down the hallways we didn't have our last pep rally and i can't emphasize enough how great we are so i made it this far it's just it was so challenging and you know i want
008to thank the parents too as well like without you guys it probably it wouldn't have happened a lot of us did go through a lot and it's just we're here we finally did it we're here we're it's we're next we're next and let's just continue keep that flame alive continue to be who you are continue to want more continue to not stop like you know after high school you're probably going to think about like what like just keep going follow your dreams follow what you always felt and go on the path that you choose and that's just my last request to my fellow classmates my peers my my friends and you know we really are the best class so i've like made it through a pandemic like no one else can say they have they
009went through a pandemic during high school and you know we will be in history books and it's just it makes it that much more amazing even though it was kind of difficult but it was great i had fun and with that being said welcome everybody to graduation class of i'm your senior class president and i'm signing out thank you yate yam greetings my name is mark carla roanhorse i am donato unified school district governing board president on behalf of gennady unified school district board i would like to congratulate the graduating class of 2021 i encourage you to fulfill your for your future endeavors and with that god bless you all hi there everybody this is jonathan nez president of the navajo nation we wish to congratulate the class of 2021 gennado high school hornets you
010know you all have gone through some unprecedented times here with a pandemic but you persevered you never gave up and you reached your goal of getting a diploma so congratulations to all the seniors all the graduates there at gennado high school you know we also want to say thank you to the superintendent uh the principal the leadership and the board for their great work getting our students to learn remotely or virtually throughout this pandemic and you know we are a nation that has persevered in uh throughout the history of the navajo people and you know you all have uh overcame some challenges i know that we lost some of our family members some of us may have uh caught the virus but we are strong our thoughts and prayers go out to those families who've
011lost loved ones and those that caught the virus and overcame coven 19 you know that just shows and magnifies the strength of who we are as a navajo people as we gone through some difficult times in our history like the long walk or even going through some of the diseases that have come through our nation like uh tuberculosis maybe hantavirus and non-cova 19 it has brought us closer together and students you know this year i'm sure you will remember for the rest of your life but let me just say too that it wasn't just about hardship and difficulties it's also about how we came closer together as a nation as a family uh you know a lot of time we were spent at home uh with our families with our parents our grandparents and you
012know there has been a lot of education uh coming from that from the home now you balance it out with what you received in the schools and that's very powerful so one thing i like to challenge all the graduates is to also remember where you came from you know some of us grew up herding sheep or taking care of livestock and you know grandma and grandpa encouraging us uh throughout our life but let's remember that we are strong and strong together and we saw that happen throughout this pandemic and because of that we've learned how to persevere and congratulations again students and also our parents for never giving up and encouraging our young people to strive for their very best in achieving the goal in this case a graduation diploma and your grandparents for continuing
013to teach us our way of life uh and the faculty the staff of gonado high school thank you so much uh for the work that you have done you are a part of this celebration as well our young people have succeeded and so it's a great milestone uh [Music] foreign [Music] i just want to end by saying you know if you put your mind and your soul to your goals you can reach it and this is a very good example in graduating from high school so whatever direction that you're going either college university the military trade school or just go to work maybe just go home and help grandma and grandpa just always remember who you are and put goals uh in front of you so it gets you a a jump start in bettering
014your your life for the future so thank you so much gennado hornets jonathan nez here and we'll continue to pray for each and every one of you and your success into the future god bless you and god bless our great navajo nation my name is marceli jones it's been a great pleasure that i have been an employee for gonado high school for 22 years and today i am announcing the top 10 seniors of the graduating class of 2021 um it's just a it's just been an amazing year for all of us a challenging one but despite that the students prevail and they are here today and here is this group of students who are the top ten andre joseph analisia shepherd kelly jesus kelly smith laquanones maria baldwin marissa lee sicily silversmith trent deadman tywina
015tracy i had the pleasure of teaching some of you and i am very very proud of each and every one of you go out in the world come back to us someday to lead us congratulations [Music] and alyssa shepard hazbah woody kelly jesus she well on your journey um it's just a it's just been an amazing year for all of us a challenging one but despite that the students prevail and they are here today and here is this group of students who are the top ten andre joseph and alicia shepherd kelly jesus kelly smith laquanones maria baldwin marissa lee sicily silversmith trent deadman tywina tracy i had the pleasure of teaching some of you and i am very very proud of each and every one of you go out in the world come back to
016us someday to lead us congratulations high [Music] horse and alissa shepard has by woody kelly jesus andre joseph lindsey sandoval megan lee shawna james and mia harvey [Music] as seniors 2021 daistaki congratulations uh graduates of 2021 at ganado high school we wish you the best thank you hello my name is chris mcnair i'm the assistant principal granada high school it is my honor to introduce the co-salutatorians for the class of 2021 trent deadman and andre joseph both of these young men have been very successful academically as evidenced by their high gpas they also had well-rounded high school education and have been successful in many other areas trent has been on the superintendent principal's honor roll every year in high school he volunteers in the community and has participated in summer science programs at arizona state
017university and the university of arizona andre has also been on the superintendent honor roll every year in high school he is a member of the varsity basketball team a member of the national honor society and is currently a representative for the senior class congratulations to these fine young men and their families i present to you the co-salutatorians for the class of 2021 trenton deadman and andre joseph yates yeah my parents are terence and donnelly dudman my grandmothers are marie arviso and mary deadman welcome school board members faculty and staff at gennado high school family friends and class of 2021. today we celebrate the graduating class of gennado high school a cohort described as being bright high achieving and full of potential they cohart recognized for having athletes who proficiently passed the 2019 azmerit in math
018it is my honor to be the class of 2021 salutatorian i truly feel we are a unique class we survived the challenge never expected we have to step up learn a new way of attending school and master remote learning who would have guessed you could attend school from your bed or attend a zoom session with wild hair and pajamas almost like the many theme weeks we had for homecoming wild hair or pajama day we are an exceptional class last year the seniors were applauded for finishing out their senior year with remote learning well the remarkable class of 2021 began the year with remote learning and concluded the year with remote learning it was challenging unfortunately we missed out on a fun-filled year with friends and classmates no friday night lights no homecoming no volleyball games
019no basketball games no jam-packed pavilion no prom and no daily interactions with friends classmates and our teachers remote learning challenged us to implement our own worth ethics to be successful and responsible we had to continuously check our google classroom to-do list once we submitted an assignment a brief moment of relief moments later a teacher would post another assignment it seemed endless yet today we are here commemorating one of many accomplishments a milestone high school graduation is an expectation we are expected to attend school and expected to graduate we are blessed to have our family support systems transportation access to food technology and the internet it is the small things that count be appreciative of why we are here what our families the community and our district the tribe and our nation has done for us
020this pandemic changed everything we shifted we transitioned and some of us may have lost someone to cope with 19. our lives have been impacted many of us receiving vaccinations a historical event we did the unimaginable we implemented our own structure utilized time management learned to be responsible and learned to multitask some of us had to navigate our educational school day along with duties and chores of home life it was difficult no one could say it was easy yet we are here completing the expectation graduating and receiving our diploma be proud we have work athletes that exceed any other class and we are truly a graduating class of excellence i'd like to take that moment to thank my support system my parents my grandmothers and my aunts having um as a support system has been crucial
021to my success they have always expressed their well wishes praises and most importantly pushed me to be my best my number one supporter my mom she instilled practice makes perfect and navajo men are smart and can excel academically to the teachers that made lasting impressions miss burnell begaye for her advice to keep reading with shawnee silversmith for your classroom structure and guidance that propelled me to another level of excellence mr and mrs shalio for making science fun delight mr nathan yan for suggesting the use of lemon juice for my award-winning science project mr and mrs berkey for being the best math teachers i've had ms cool for her guidance and mr tom tonicini for the encouraging conversations to my sponsors mr and mrs ron williams for the encouragement and continued faith i am proud of
022the education i have received thank you tomorrow we begin another chapter of our life and i want to claim we are ready we are ready to tackle tomorrow the future with new aspirations hopes and dreams the number one thing in the world is not education it is your dream if you want to pursue your dream and your plan requires a higher education take that next step if you are ready to dive into the workforce take that next step you are the boss of your own destination you will make decisions about your dream you will make plans on how to pursue your dream if you want it bad enough you will take risk when you hear that inner voice of doubt you will need to nourish yourself with positive affirmations and say i can do this
023sometimes taking a risk may lead to failure and if you don't fail you are not trying our class motto by michael jordan is about this obstacles don't have to stop you if you run into a wall don't turn around and give up figure out how to climb it go through it or work around it you will need to be relentless and keep trying a wise person once said to be successful you must exceed your own expectations and must look beyond where you want to be and make it happen it begins with you in this moment here and now to my fellow graduates the class of 2021 congratulations we proved that nothing could stop us good luck and i wish you well on your journey in life and to my gaming buddies what time are we
024playing smash bros thank you andrew joseph tell behind what she's cheating keaney dishes chanel afternoon ladies and gentlemen before i begin my speech i would like to congratulate the entirety of the graduating class of 2021 of all the navajo nation high schools and beyond especially to our fellow classmates rydell dodge and mike began who i hope are hearing spirit to celebrate to stay with us as they earn their place they made their mark among our class then i would like to thank the teachers who had to put with just looking at our names for online classes the administrative board members who had to make the toughest decisions or to school even if even if it was around the pond the custodians getting up early and staying late to keep the school clean and create a
025healthy environment for us students and the bus drivers who always got us safely to our destination thank you today today is a special day not only for you and i but for our parents grandparents siblings and relatives because we have represented our bloodline to its extent of taking our first step into the real world so now it is our time to grow up like this before us be a quote unquote adult because to the real world we are still children we have to take down the challenges responsibilities and possibilities our future holds for us be accountable for ourselves and to those who believe in us then of course the terror going to the doctors i know i speak to you not only as your but as the kind and selfish humble generous open-minded brown kid
026that you've grown to known or seen roaming around the halls of the school or dribbling the basketball from up and down that court and i say to you that our journey is only has just begun from the time we were little freshmen lost and not certain of the location of our classes being booed at assemblies into that wtf moment of looking upon that crowd squeezing its way through that poor cafeteria door as sophomores getting more progressive high school and adjusting as juniors anxiously waiting for our junior year to end then as seniors oh boy there is nowhere to start this senior year but an abundance of stress memories would have could have shoot us as we all know the show must go on and then the wise words of the late code would rant everything
027negative pressure challenges is on opportunity for you and life to rise so class of 2021 take pride and be grateful and i wish you all the best thank you you got history government today it is my honor to introduce the valedictorian of 2021 tywina tracy congratulations family friends faculty and fellow graduates i'm tywina tracy valedictorian of this year's graduating class well we did it we all accomplished one of the major early milestones of our lives high school graduation this is a major step in the journey of our lives one that should be recognized for its immense significance it is an act not only a personal commitment but also one of pride we all deserve to celebrate and be proud of ourselves losing our senior year to a virus was not what we have planned but
028it's definitely an experience that will affect their lives forever and a memory we will never ever forget studying and mastering new material was difficult enough with the help of our amazing teachers with the added responsibilities of helping more at the house working an essential job and other challenges that came with being at home it seemed impossible to keep up with school work we all had to face a multitude of barriers we all worked hard to get to this day and our work did not go to waste it's upsetting we won't have a traditional graduation ceremony and sadly we can't control the circumstances we face today what we can do is choose how we respond to it as we take these next steps in life it can be hard to imagine what life could look like
029as time progresses on the only certainty we have is that time does go on and the future will arrive we can use the pandemic as either an excuse for why we can't move on life or we can use that as a motivator to find our purpose graduation is not angle in itself it is instead a part of the larger journey of life wherever our future takes us lettuce takes us somewhere life is a journey and all the compliments achieved during this course should be taken as starting points for further achievements our graduation should be used as a launching point projecting us to wherever our futures are meant to take us whether we land ourselves a career take up a trade or continue our education at college or vocational slash technical school we already shown our
030commitment to personal growth through making it to the ceremony today but soon all of us will experience another ceremony when we graduate from our programs as i said before life is a journey we do not stop growing once we get our diplomas life is about growing and being in our programs will give each of us new opportunities to continue growing and to learn new skills that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives and we don't have to stop there this graduation has already shown us how capable we all are of accomplishing our goals when we commit ourselves to them hope all of us will take this personal accomplishment as an example of how anything is surely possible when we put our minds to it as we continue on in our lives
031let us take on each new problem with confidence knowing that we have a tree great heights and aren't equipped with the necessary tools to tackle our futures the road that lies ahead of us won't be easy there will be obstacles and missed exits potholes and roadblocks there will be times each of us will feel like we can't possibly go on there will be times each of us will think that he or she is alone but we are not alone we're all on this journey together we made it this far nothing worthwhile is easy and that includes making the most out of your futures but that does not mean we give up on ourselves we will keep pushing because we know we can achieve our dreams and because we are worth it we're already taking the
032first step by making it to the ceremony today now it's time to take the next steps in the journey that is our lives and begin to build our futures thank you and congratulations to the class of 2021 now we come to the time in our program to honor all of the members of the class of 2021. superintendent dr betsy daviosh it is with honor and privilege that i present to you the gonado high school class of 2021 i certify that these graduates have met all of the graduation requirements set forth by the canada unified school district governing board and the state of arizona greetings i am dr betsy dobias interim superintendent gennado unified school district upon the recommendation of the principal of gonado high school and the authority vested in me by gennado unified school
033district governing board in the state of arizona i hereby award you this diploma this diploma is awarded to you with all the rights honors and privileges pertaining thereto congratulations lazy king jared pete trent deadman michael thomas billy andre joseph ruth wilden chantal dale raquel c dalla guy chantelle wilson molly stash sean mangilito jr nakisha helona austin wilson kirby kisly treat me quintera a roundhorse audrey peshlikai kyle james isaiah chaka [Music] national honor society member kayla lynn beck shania james jayden james tamika kailyn leo colin log cody sosi and alicia shepard kia ora ray keaney jacob benally remington begay tasma agnes woody sicily silversmith national honor society member natasha ashley sheridan ethan benally tunisia begay tywina tracy noah notre joel c maloney deandrea hildreth brandon ashley lindsay ray sandoval kobe key malcolm luke lucas edgewater tony
034shirley kelly smith taylor harry kyler nez kelly jesus penelope joe bro curly chelsea jones ariana faith churchillo jc for dhoni megan lee shelby curly monique salazar tia begay tyler pigotti um marcelyn davis ethan mason kishi jc vernon key michaela begaye national honor society member jacob vs quiz randy begue elita jane teller kaylee sosie tabitha key maria baldwin tyra deadman marissa lee lacy pinward marcellus bin mia harvey cheyenne yazzie quincy chase jacob valley kyla preston damien ness i am honored to offer the farewell and congratulate each one of the graduates the world is waiting for your talents knowledge and creativity college and universities that will welcome you this fall are expecting you to be leaders and innovators just as you have been at ganado high school you have come to kanada high school with the purpose
035to learn and embrace knowledge never stop endeavoring to learn never stop challenging yourself take risks always keep your spark of genius alive we have been prepared well at canada high school and by our families to become whatever we want to be in the world wherever we may go we will always have a home at ganado high school we look forward to in returning to canada high school as an alumni until then good luck with diplomas in our hands the time has come to turn our tassels this signifies that we are crossing from high school to the next stage in our lives graduates please move your tassels from right to left ladies and gentlemen family and friends i present to you 2021 graduating class of gonado high school [Music] graduating class of 2021. congratulations here conado
036high school hornet class of 2021 i'm honored to have been a small part of your memories remember the good old days freshman year how about your sophomore year ladies and gentlemen don't let kovac muddy the memories you have of these earlier years your class quote is perfect for the obstacles that you have had to face these past two years michael jordan knew what he was talking about when he said obstacles don't have to stop you if you run into a wall don't turn around and give up figure out a way to climb it go through it or work around it covered and remote learning have been obstacles you have never encountered before yet you have overcome those obstacles and emerged victorious to stand proud and worthy to be gonato high school's 2021 graduating class class
037of 2021 you have been given many tools your foundational learning to go out and build your future how you use these tools will determine what kind of future you build for yourself how will you use the tools you have received from your education to communicate to the world around you of a better future you can scratch with chickens you can walk with turkeys or you can soar with eagles it's your decision every person you meet knows something you don't are you willing to listen and learn from them your education doesn't stop when you graduate this is just another journey this is a new chapter and a new adventure in your life take the tools you have learned in high school and approach each obstacle that's a challenge you never give in never give out and
038never give up michael josephson said take pride in how far you have come have faith and how far you can go but don't forget to enjoy the journey your faith is a muscle that gets stronger when you exercise it seniors shine like the maroon blue and white colors and rise on the wings of the hornet it's time to go beyond the mesas and the juniper-covered hills sharpen your tools of knowledge because the beacon of hope lies before you rise and shine congratulations hornet class of 2021 and may god go with you i wish somebody would have told me [Music] i was thinking about the fans we were underground loading merch in that 12 passenger van in a small club of minnesota and the snow outside the first half i just wanted my name in the
039start now look at where we are still growing still growing wishing i was still young [Music] gonna wish i didn't think i had the answers wish i didn't drink all of that blast first wish i made it to homecoming got up the courage to ask her wish i would have gotten out of my shell wish i put the bottle back on that shelf which i wouldn't worry about what other people thought i felt comfortable with myself rooftop open and the stars above moment frozen sneaking out and falling in love [Music] oh [Music] days [Music] think it was better than it was maybe these are the moments maybe i've been missing what it's about been scared of the future thinking about the past while missing out on now we've come so far i guess i'm proud
040at night worried about the wrinkles around my smile i got some scars [Music] you don't know what you got [Music] till it's gone [Music] gonna change you