001you gotta wonder if i got a problem [Music] i can't help baby but it doesn't oh scratching on my back [Music] time [Music] baby i've been seeing lonely people in crowded rooms covering the old heart breaks with new tattoos it's all about smoke screens and cigarettes looking through low lights at silhouettes but all i say is lonely people the city's gonna break my heart it's [Music] she's always gonna break [Music] and i remember nights when i didn't feel like work she wakes up at noon and she's out two three she leaves a perfume all over me [Music] oh this city's gonna break my heart [Music] stuff [Music] she got me fingers [Music] is yes [Music] but i don't know what to say cause you let go [Music] just [Music] baby please don't let me break
002it i knew i should have stayed cause now you're moving on and i don't know what to say [Music] cuz until it is [Music] sometimes so [Music] me [Music] you gotta lose somebody i'm from the east side of america where we choose pride over character and we pick sides but this is us this is us this this is us this is i don't believe the narcissism when everyone projects and expects you to listen to them [Music] is [Music] and i'm from the east side of america [Music] when [Applause] mistakes is this is good afternoon ladies and gentlemen as principal of thunderbird high school i welcome you to the commencement ceremony for the class of 2021. joining me on stage for this ceremony are patti kennedy glendale union high school district's governing board clerk and mr
003brian capistran superintendent of the glendale union high school district please welcome governing board member clerk patty kennedy and mr capistran this class of 2021 is thunderbird high school's 47th graduating class today is a special one for families and friends however these graduates are now the young men and women of the hour they have richly added to the traditions of and the greatness of thunderbird high school each graduate investment in his or her future we will commence with the honor of receiving a high school diploma at this time i ask that you silence all personal devices to preserve the dignity of the ceremony tradition dictates that the audience remains standing during the processional ladies and gentlemen i now present to you the class of 2021. let the processional begin [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music]
004[Applause] okay please remain standing good afternoon i am cadet lieutenant commander emilio ortiz the company commanding officer of thunderbird high school's navy jrotc please remain standing for the presentation of colors national anthem and the pledge of allegiance left face [Music] so [Music] ready please join me for the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance 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 you may be seated wait when i was told that i would be the first student speaker at our graduation i was overwhelmed with how i would start it off well this is what i decided hello graduates parents of the graduates and all staff if you don't know me my name is ana maria erelia
005alvarez and i am your senior class president of 2021 this year has been incredibly hard and you all know that honestly it's sad to see our year come to an end in this way but i'm grateful for everything i want you to know that through every interaction i've had i've learned something new even if it lasts a few seconds and i hope that through our interaction today that we can learn something together like maybe you don't know what anti-disestablished tenerism means well it means a position that advocates that a state church should continue to receive government patronage rather than to be disestablished but you really don't need to know that i hope i can teach you something new in the few last minutes we have before we never have to see each other again technically
006i believe that there is something we should live by and consider especially now that we are moving on from high school and becoming adults who will start their career soon and plan out their lives the following quote is from one of my favorite people ever mr harry styles it goes no one can tell you you're not successful if you're happy doing what you're doing i'm telling you this because i want you to know that your happiness should come before anything else what good is it to be dedicating your life to something if you are not content success can't be measured by anyone but yourself and at the end of the day no one truly knows if you are happy doing what you're doing that being said out of everything i hope you choose happiness which
007brings me to this our senior gift our staff dedicates a lot of their time to helping us achieve our goals and helping our campus be the best it can be that is why the class of 2021 will be giving our school money in order to redo the floors on the practice gym they've been looking a little rough for a while now as you all know and it's finally time to help out the floors will include senior class of 2020 and senior class of 2021 written on them lastly i want to thank my friends and teachers for being there for me tirelessly throughout my high school years i want to start off by thanking one of my best friends chloe for never leaving my side anissa and maddie for introducing me to student council and getting
008me to the stage today to make this speech i want to thank mr unsworth who has always been so kind to me and other students and truly represents what a teacher should be thank you to my parents who came to this country with nothing but a few dollars and still manage to give me everything i'm graduating here today because you never had the chance to and as soup dog once said last but not least i want to thank me thank you class of 2021 congratulations and i hope all of you get to be as happy as you deserve at this time i have the pleasure of presenting those students who have earned the highest academic honor to be received by a graduate that honor is graduates with the highest distinction these students have achieved academic
009excellence which ranks them in the top 1 of their graduating class patty kennedy glendale union high school district governing board clerk will present these honored [Applause] elliott hull elliott st claire ladies and gentlemen i would like to present the top one percent of students for the graduating class of 2021. good afternoon noon friends family teachers administration and fellow graduates my name is cora lee the augustino and i am honored to be one of your three esteemed valedictorians for the past year i didn't know if we'd be able to come together to commemorate our success but i'm glad to be here now and while i could stand here and drone on about things you've heard a million times like look before you leap and don't ride in the back of trucks that's not why i'm here
010i'm here to welcome congratulate and bid farewell to the class of 2021. together we became the class of anomalies the class of grayed out webex boxes and cancelled events simply put we are the classic covid over the last four years we have conquered the unthinkable we fought for education in the red for ed movement we sat through four very long years of the joke of the day but most impressively we graduated in the middle of a pandemic a feat that none of us would have considered despite the struggles and challenges we've faced over the years we've all bonded through pigeon attacks and friendly games of dodging golf carts all of these moments both good and bad have made us who we are they've made us more powerful in our ambitions our actions and in our
011character most importantly it's given us the strength and discipline needed to move forward within my time at high school i've gained the ability to successfully procrastinate all of my work yet somehow turn it in with minimal error and while i say that proudly it does come with its drawbacks during that time procrastinating i could have done so much more and each time that i did that i regretted it time is an invaluable commodity that many of us take for granted every second you spend not trying to achieve your dreams is a second wasted those seconds turn into minutes and those minutes into hours and hours into days and after that life has passed you by so moving forward i urge you all to never waste an opportunity presented to you each day i want you
012to find the time to battle yourself take those lessons you've acquired and live life working towards your dreams so class of 2021 you've come this far but there's still so much for you to do i wish you all good luck into your endeavors and i have the upmost confidence that you can do anything you put your mind to thank you all for the wonderful four years and i can't see what you do next thank you all right so i'll just jump right in apologize in advance if my hat slides off fellow students esteemed faculty honored guests and parents among us my name is elliott hull and it is an honor and a privilege to stand before you today i was excited to learn that our graduation ceremony would be an in-person event at least until
013i found out i would have to speak in front of all of you and now i kind of wish it was online congratulations to my fellow students in the class of 2021. graduation actually i'll take this off too is an impressive accomplishment uh one that will be important for the rest of our lives moreover we graduated under some very unique circumstances starting with the longest spring break in history during our junior year we worked through shifting pandemic guidelines cancelled act and sat dates shortened or cancelled sports seasons supply shortages internet outages and of course the dreaded end role phobia or the fear of running out of toilet paper despite those unprecedented hurdles we persevered our teachers and coaches endeavored to teach us how to deal with problems especially those that are unexpected life will provide
014challenges for us to face and how we deal with those challenges will provide opportunities opportunities to overcome the obstacles and emerge a better person on the other side while i would like to tell you that we have already faced the greatest challenge of our lifetimes that is probably not the case i'm right here with you about to head off into a world that looks and feels different than the one i knew just 14 months ago i'm a little anxious but i am not afraid we have all been given the gift of a world-class education at thunderbird high school our teachers have endeavored to work tirelessly to help each of us succeed no matter the circumstances we are all well prepared for whatever life throws at us next i wish each of you all the success
015that this life has to offer thank you [Applause] i'm only allowed two minutes for this so as mr baker would say seat belts and hard hats everyone it's rush day monday first of all on behalf of the class of thank you to the students teachers parents and administrators who have contributed to our high school journey as we look forward to the next chapter of our lives we also reflect on the past four years and what we will take with us class of the world needs us to step up and be humble leaders who are willing to learn from others thunderbird high school thank you for preparing us well to take on this challenge roger bannister was the first person to run a mile in under four minutes a feat that experts once believed was physiologically
016impossible in order to do this he sought the help of his friends who were sprinters one of them paced him for the first half of the race and the other took over for the rest of it those sprinters challenged him to think and train differently than he had in the past allowing him to run faster than he or anyone else ever had god created us to be in community with and learn from each other just as roger bannister did google also found this to be true in google set out to study what makes the perfect team they researched various teams within the company and looked at factors including interests educational backgrounds gender balance and many others but they found no patterns with any of these instead the largest determinant of the success of a team
017was how well the members listen to each other so class of 2021 as we continue our journey beyond high school let's seek out the sprinters in our lives those who have different cultural backgrounds experiences and interests let's listen to the people around us who have different ideas and world views when we are open to insight from others we gain a new perspective of ourselves and the world around us let's take advantage of the endless opportunities we are given each day to broaden our world views by really listening to the people we interact with thank you graduating class of 2021 congratulations today is the culmination of years of prepa preparation the realization of a job well done and anticipation of what lies ahead today you can allow yourself a moment of satisfaction and take time to
018honor and thank the family and friends who have supported you along the way the people here today who have shared in the journey and celebrate with you in the success it seems like every conversation we have these days involves this pandemic it is true you have persevered during a challenging time however this time does not define you it does not diminish any of your accomplishments with that being said it does not give you an excuse for not striving to achieve your goals or to realize your dreams the class of 21 has risen to the challenge your lives and your careers will present many unexpected obstacles in the future i trust that what you have learned from your teachers your coaches and your peers has equipped you with the skills and tools necessary to overcome those
019inevitable challenges in life looking back over this school year there are numerous instances of success for us to celebrate here are a few highlights this year's student achievement above all recipient was ellie saint claire in addition to receiving this recognition she finished in the top one percent of her graduating class and was selected as a national merit finalist keegan halverson also earned the distinction of national merit finalist our achievement above all student group recipient was ladies soccer this team had a successful season and made an appearance in the playoffs also making playoff appearances this year were girls volleyball girls basketball baseball and boys tennis individual athletes also qualified for state competition in track cross country wrestling and tennis we are proud of all of our student athletes for coming out to participate during an unprecedented
020year in addition to the athletic and academic success i want to congratulate the performing artists the photographers and visual arts students as well as our cte and rotc students your talents are a huge part of what makes thunderbird high school so successful i submit to you ladies and gentlemen that the class of 2021 brought their a game when i look out over this group of young men and women it is no wonder that thunderbird high school continues to be an institution of excellence i would now like to take a moment to recognize students for outstanding achievement on state testing if you earned a bronze medal please stand up if you earned a silver medal for your achievement in state testing please stand up [Applause] if you earned a gold medal please stand up [Applause] thank
021you students please be seated finally i would like to report that the class of 21 has earned over 9.7 million dollars in scholarship money and has given back to the community over two thousand hours of service class of 2021 thunderbird high school is proud of you we wish you all of the best as you work toward your future success thank you [Applause] i would now like to introduce to you patty kennedy mrs kennedy is a long time resident of the glendale union high school district and was elected in november of 2010. she graduated from moon valley high school and her two children also attended moon valley high school ms kennedy and her husband brendan own a business valuation firm in phoenix and are active in the rotary youth exchange program please welcome ms patty kennedy
022thank you good afternoon thunderbird high school graduating class of 2021 i am so happy to be here today with you in person with all of you your family your friends and the faculty and staff of thunderbird high school i have really missed you guys so what does one say to a class that's graduating in the middle of a global pandemic i'm not really sure but i'm going to try and don't worry they've asked me to keep it short so here's the bottom line you all have persevered this has been a trying year for everyone and the fact that you are sitting here today is a testament to your fortitude and your drive i hope that you will take this unique experience into the future with you in a positive way well book learning is important
023so too are the skills that you had to learn and refine during this pandemic patience perseverance tolerance self-motivation self-care caring for family and friends and the communication skills that you've learned these are the skills that are going to help you throughout your life both in your career and on a personal level everyone has challenges and makes mistakes in their lives having these skills will help you inevitably when you have to pick yourself up brush yourself off and move forward everyone's path will be filled with unforeseen twists and turns and being flexible and willing to change course or overcome obstacles is vital to your continued success in life finally i would like to touch on the importance of being part of a community for the past four years glendale union high school district and thunderbird high
024school have been your community now you are moving on to different communities whether that be college work military wherever life takes you be an active member of your community work to make that community better and vote be an informed voter and vote in every election for every race or every item on that ballot by being involved in your community and voting in elections you will make your community your city your county your state and your nation a better place for everyone graduating from high school in the middle of a pandemic is a milestone to be sure but i hope that it is only the first of many milestones in your life on behalf of the glendale union high school district governing board and the administration of the glendale union high school district we wish you
025all much happiness a bright future and a bright and shining world thank you so much as a member of the governing board of the glendale union high school district and by the authority vested in me by the constitution and the laws of the state of arizona i accept and confirm that the thunderbird high school class of 2021 has met the requirements for graduation mr latham please present your graduates to receive their diplomas thank you ladies and gentlemen we ask that you moderate your applause until the completion of the ceremony as a courtesy which will permit the families and friends of graduates to hear the names as they are announced will the first row of the class of 2021 please rise and prepare to receive your diplomas okay sophie grace woodburn mike elliott michael hall ian
026hillel irving anna maria erria alvarez marie josephine simon coralie d'agostino william sanchez vasquez elliot grace sinclair adrian olivia wilder james tanner lee diego eric marquez [Music] carson adeline berker jenna gwen dylan james gallery taryn kendrick loma v2 emma grace donnelly midori leonyard joseph robert duarte brennan domingo ibanez jocelyn delgado sydney jean young jaylen jarrell dortch zeke hugo peverell yesenia enriquez lindsay miranda villanueva marco alejandro gutierrez valdovinos bennett liam smith rolando carmona leslie miranda villanueva james marshall ames spear jalen schuyler wilcox island naie diary burden abigail reece vidmark aaliyah alice lethridge bradley allen mcconaughey anna choset penovotic kierra michelle stewart mendia madison marie wolfe [Applause] jacob anthony martinez kenneth dean howard rebecca laurel lester [Music] angel david antelope valenzuela bryce miles mcconaughey nicole katherine holland aiden ash turner charles david calcetera zachary thomas tupalik annalise grace
027gombar katie rose squires anthony canisales jr tyrek lethridge protista ishana cummings maya ashley looper brian bakley hogan daniel lee jaylen rose archuleta in honor of student abigail barrett here to accept her diploma is her mother becky [Applause] barnett tyler jacob hopson summer danielle walls ariana christine greene john garrett johnson jorge emilio ortiz del valle bridget jacqueline jones anissa mubarak votros cameron alexander rampley kimberly leskas campos cali ray logan [Applause] evelyn arelli garcia de anda carson lee kelly hunter gerald bedford peyton angel simmons tristan craig gettman rex gabriel plant junior nashanti anastasia bathia quinn taylor talbot megan grace gore matthew scott serene madeleine k frederick frederil alexandria renee moore stephanie faith boro michael cole kelly derrick juan carlos coles [Music] alexis kathleen loewy [Applause] eric ramirez castellanos alexander philip keenan angela isela garcia colin bradley steffensen
028morgan lily jones austin william gentry brandon lee schwartz samantha margaret cudmore noemi rodriguez anissa amber cowell brian ariel viver hernandez gabriella gene kusumano emily rose petrus nelly ayala james malcolm wood [Music] ryland michael dethro ashlyn maya lee daniel abedin alexander kenneth roberts hannah may essential radica may jones eliana joy chandler cole michael mccarrick kylie ann gonce veronica velasquez soliz casey james funk cornelius jacobus swartz xavier alexander hernandez faith christine mccullough joaquin emilio garcia jeffrey bryant lilly monica elizabeth brody freda sophia lopez jason haro trenton wade mason caitlin maylie femiano hannah renee wendler caitlin bryce holmquist jayden anthony smith nathan ryan klein [Applause] kenya nate thomas [Applause] sabrina michelle lee boker reese elijah turner alyssa renee hughes nigella shade kirk [Music] tyler morgan engel raymond allen lewis julia alexis gullison micah menial salian celia hayes hanson
029[Applause] matthew valdez brett gino antonio ariana ortiz madeleine kathleen barton [Music] daniel antonio salazar sanchez isaac aparicio aparicio mariah k wiley alex anna holder daniel chandler thompson jimmy nathaniel buell alexis lynn otto suzy nicole ayala vasquez arbay m.c sevong marcus antonio garcia delaney don larson rachel rose beams [Music] raymond richard mata keegan owen halverson [Music] asia lane nephtelia yellowman lopez jason christopher roundsville jose alejandro chavez ashlynn alyssa scheffer amarani acosta rodriguez carter james minis [Music] ambrosio daniel gonzalez alexandra salinas salas jessica hernandez deshawn kayan johnson alexis hacklin latasha helen rose thompson alexis rose hoffman alexander james ridley aiden joseph askew araceli valdez kennedy lynn cowells gabrielle jr ortiz anthony joseph oceano iii rachel quinn mccann amari angel espinosa jose alfredo pena galvez chris gibson [Music] uh angela ashanti oldalde shaylyn danielle benedetto [Music] christina marie
030maloney theodore buchanan hotchkiss daniel jacob northcott ashland elizabeth adams dunya mata tobin james holbert jacob haimov rodney paul herzig rylynn antonia trader brianna marie boykin alan alexander ross ivan alvarado ortega nolan charles smith brianna enriquez gilliam cameron nicholas rios georgina roxel aguirre quinn aymairani rodriguez ramirez juan jose barranco escalona jr alberto lopez zamora rebecca ryan bailey [Music] helena adeline salas angel eduardo de anda orta carlos eduardo ramirez vasquez alex nathan ches chile jr enya elizabeth ann trenheiser aaliyah denise davis evelyn moreno janet ivan urias donovan deante chester [Music] carson christopher santos rodriguez abigail elizabeth cardenas kyler mckenzie romo david dejaro alexis k taylor mariela alfonso stetson kyle jacobs dylan price durant gerardo longoria valdez ryan alexander hart ruby montijo [Music] james hergen christian anthony reyes navas liam scott arnold vanessa tapia sanchez nathaniel eben bull
031travis dominic d domenico joshua michael phillips levi allen bentz jada lynn krebs lillian neschwan alkas musa christian enrique ibanez alexa garcia bautista juvia gabina munoz martinez [Music] jake garner larue [Music] camacho garcia edgar ryan armani cerato [Applause] [Music] a lady natalie rodriguez cortez giselle garcia garcias victor daniel vite andres gorgonio calderon [Music] yulitsa rosilvi rodriguez odessa elizabeth correa wendy maria ramirez avila andrew araisa dennis george sav karina isela chavira marlene jarkeen caleb adam madison joshua alexander calvin amaya michelle jordan maya len goth judah uriah sexton demetrius raphael gordon diego alonso mares ponce patrick gerald davis esther leon sanchez justin noel and dino alexander riley sarella cole taylor hanson vanessa luna jimenez jace carson harrell cynthia santiago cruz mckenzie danielle bateman alejandro sanchez jesus ronaldo gonzalez valverde nigeria marie linwood [Music] andreas robert oliver zachary joseph
032bayardi sadie hisella rosas gonzalez brianna marie barney [Applause] damien salas reese noble van chelsea isabella segovia tatiana to shay hatchett [Music] soweed gildardo lopez valdez nathan isaiah corrales johanna eva johanna lopez america beatrice herrera chavez daniel brandon oro pesa eli michael brackney adali soto ruelas catherine capo tania lopez juarez kaden peterson allred [Music] chelsea valenzuela paisley dylan kopech [Music] aileen molina silva brian luis i'm sorry luis bertino jonathan uriel valenzuela mejia jessica elizabeth donnelly samantha rossio morales victor lorenzo hernandez axel joshua vasquez benitez jaden sanchez flores [Applause] luis carlos vega yadira garcia morales karen alba ibanez cedric orlindo dante harris lacy the third alonso angel lopez alexiana monique bermudez [Music] fernandez cruz dominic hill [Music] dane matthew van winkle ariana victoria garza [Music] sarin michelle sealander aiden jose hernandez ryan alexander whitener irma of ditch
033maria youssef dominic cole anderson romero [Music] peyton avery williams adriana marie corella alea jaden meinhold william dalby abner [Music] kyle gerhart schmidt andrea marisela godoy ian kake nicholas [Applause] avery profit more samantha jordan pear [Music] moses ray thurman lyric justice martin ariel gael rosas santiago jaelyn tyree stewart [Music] mia renee viscara kyla star webster charlotte mcginnis mcphee gillum jeanette florence mcphee gillum ashanti nesbitt [Applause] thank you [Applause] [Music] parents faculty family families and my fellow students my name is james lee and i've had the privilege to be the student body president this year first off i want to thank you the opportunity you have given me has changed my life in ways you will never know next i want to congratulate you making it through high school is hard enough and you did it in
034the midst of a pandemic lastly i want to take our thank our teachers and parents these individuals have gone to battle with us every day for the last four years and when the world got dark and turned upside down on us they were right there in our corner i want you all to know that making it to here today is something to be proud of your parents are proud your teachers are proud and i am here to proud and i am proud to graduate alongside you to graduate in the class of 2021 not only means you were born in one of the greatest time frames ever because you got to see the end of cool tv shows witness disney's cinematic magic and play on the original wii but in all seriousness graduating in this class
035was no simple task you see to be here today you had to show resilience you had to have the ability to climb for new heights and you had to focus this class has been tested since day one and i am proud to say that this class came into high school with no fear this class has demonstrated their resilience by how they have adapted to change for example as freshmen we got an extra spring break where we could support our teachers in our own education and on that very first day back we were blindsided by state testing or sophomore year when we lost our very own mr clements we not only adapted to that change but were able to make him remembered on this campus then into our junior year where things got wild we were
036finally living what i like to call our best live and then out of nowhere a global pandemic hit taking away time with the class before us our first prom and so many school trips that we had worked so hard for but instead of hanging our heads we bounce back ready to see his senior year after what felt like the longest summer ever finally we got to senior year in our senior year we dealt with so much loss and the term it is what it is became so common but nothing would compare to the loss of our very own abby barnett abby could make everyone smile and always believe that there was good in this world so instead of falling in with the rest of the world quitting and putting our heads down we took a
037page out of abby's book we kept our heads up we smiled and we moved forward i guess you could say that we just kept swimming but we did not just keep swimming we learn from our surroundings we focus on what was important and how we could make the most out of a bad situation this class has had astonishing focus so much so that this focus has led to 62 students graduating with the honors diploma over nine million dollars raised in scholarships over a four year span and we will be sending athletes to play collegiate sports you see focus was necessary to graduate with this class not only this year but in your full four year experience lastly this class has broken ceilings and climb for new heights that nobody thought imaginable this class has not
038stopped for anything or let anyone get in the way of what they want to do this class has gone toe-to-toe with a global pandemic that was life-altering for all and they have come out the victor this class is going places and nothing i repeat nothing will get in the way of that lastly i want to leave you with one thing is a quote that came to me from a mentor of mine by the name of tommy tran he once said we are here for a good time and not a long time but he would follow this up by saying that life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond i challenge you class of twenty twenty one to live life with no regrets so when that final bell of life
039rings you can walk away full i want to encourage you when that 10 percent of life gets really hard that the 90 percent that you can control maintains and stays positive but most of all i want you to remember the people in this room around you because when life gets dark and the world gets too hard and there seems to be too much hurt you can always turn back to your friends your family your teachers and as always i am a phone call away i thank you class of 2021 for the privilege to represent you these last four years i wish you the best of luck in life and wherever your next steps may take you for the last time my name is james lee and it has been my greatest honor to be your
040student body president and graduate alongside you thank you during the recessional we ask that all guests remain in their seats at the conclusion of the recessional guests should exit the facility using the doors located on the east end of the building all graduates must be met outside of the building teachers we are ready to begin the recessional graduates please rise graduates please move your tassel from right to left signifying a high school graduate parents and guests i present to you the graduates of the class of 2021 [Music] so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] you [Music] so [Music] good well started on time we did [Music] is