001[Music] do high school as we celebrate the graduation of the students of the class of 2021 at this time please stand for the processional as the band conducted by mr justin smith plays pomp and circumstance and please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem [Music] you [Music] you [Music] [Applause] dr thiele members of the board of education faculty and staff parents families and friends welcome to the graduation commencement ceremony for the downers grove north high school class of 2021 my name is janice chores and i have the honor of being the principal here at north high tonight's ceremony is part of a rich history as we gather this evening to celebrate the graduation of the 93rd class from north high school and the 143rd class in the history of downers grove
002high schools to begin our ceremony emily coors will lead us in the pledge of allegiance while at north emily played on both the golf and soccer teams all four years she also attended elite and snowball and won the super science award emily will study psychology next year at the university of tennessee the pledge of allegiance will be followed by the star-spangled banner performed by our north high command combined bands under the direction of senior owen nystrom owen is a member of national honor society tri-m music honor society and math team he has participated in nearly every band at north is president of the band board and performed in the spring musical owen has earned numerous awards for his musicianship and plans to study mechanical engineering at purdue university next year gentlemen please remove your graduation
003caps 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 [Music] [Applause] [Music] now [Applause] [Music] [Applause] please be seated graduates please replace your graduation caps my name is reese isakson at this time it is my honor to introduce the platform guests as i introduce each guest i would ask each of them to stand and for you to hold your applause until all guests have been introduced dr hank feely superintendent board of education members mr michael davenport vice president mr christopher espinoza miss jenny hagstrom dr nancy kupka president mr daniel nicholas miss teresa pavich ms joanna vazquez drexler as long as as well as faculty members mr demetrious papa george english and drama teacher
004and mr brayer teague fine arts department chair thank you for your participation in tonight's ceremony [Applause] it is also my pleasure to introduce our first student speaker delaney durbin delaney has been an executive board member on the student advisor council to the principal a change-maker leader and an elite leader she participated in drama club french club national honor society and choir and has received state recognition for for her participation in choir delaney has been an active member of the theater department at north including both acting and directing and recently received the grove players scholarship next year delaney will attend new york university as a music business major hi everyone i'm delaney durbin and it is such an honor and a privilege to be here at the finish line with such an impressive accomplished and esteemed
005group of people and also with my classmates just kidding you guys are great as far as you know i think it's fair to say that most of us had some idea about what senior year might be like we knew the vibe what we were going to get up to how it was generally going to go we'd spend our first three years training for senior year like it was a 5k maybe even one of those charity 5ks where you can walk it and still claim victory for finishing so we headed into the summer all hoping for the easy 5k we'd prepared for and we show up to the race all excited only to find out it got changed to a triathlon through the himalayas wait a minute nobody asked us about this nobody consulted the seniors
006where did that slow dog around downers grove go we say we've never done a triathlon through the himalayas before i mean where is the swimming portion even going to happen did you guys bring bikes we look to the people in charge and they say this is our first time too what come again this is all new to you guys too perfect just perfect so we all set off together into the himalayas without a map on a bike with questionable internet connection and we hope for the best and it turns out we didn't need to be handed a map we made one together the students and the faculty we wondered how will we have plays put on musicals perform bands and orchestra concerts we found a way we wondered how are we going to play football
007soccer lacrosse we found a way we wondered will our teachers ever remember to unmute themselves before they talk eventually they did sometimes and we wondered how will we learn how will we prepare for whatever is next in our lives work college professional wrestling and most of all we wondered how will we do this without getting lost hurt or sick along the way alone in the mountains and sure some of us got lost and some of us got sick but we were never alone there was always someone there to point us back in the right direction or nurse us back to health and those people are sitting all around us right now and even right next to us and in the end we found a way true it was up a big hill but we carried
008on we forged a path mapped the uncharted not this year especially but over the past four years we have faced challenges that no group of high school students should have to face and we've done the work that we would rather not do but all of that struggle and hardship has led to this moment a moment where doing the work we'd rather not have done means something a moment where i can look around and say honestly that you are the most inspiring group of people that i could have had the pleasure of working and growing with we might not know what's ahead but what we do know is that whether it's a 5k or a triathlon thanks to the people sitting around us and more importantly what's inside us we are ready thank you [Applause] thank
009you delaney the north high a cappella choir will now sing two short selections the first is love psalm arranged by darman meter the lyric speaks to the importance of deliberately letting love into our lives after that the choir will sing our school's alma mater at the end of the first selection we will ask you to stand for the alma mater and for the men to remove their graduation caps both selections will be conducted by ms beth o'reirden and dr frank p cars and accompanied by miss elizabeth vaughn [Music] dad [Music] yourself [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] we is [Music] do [Music] oh please now stand for the alma mater gentlemen please remove your graduation caps this oh [Music] is [Music] r [Music] oh all these [Music] is please be seated gentlemen
010you may now replace your caps it is my pleasure to now introduce our second student speaker syed farhan next year syed will attend benedictine university where he will major in biochemistry and preparation for medical medical school while at north syed ran cross country and track and was a member of student council north stars change makers spanish club all-access choir and deca he also served as a tutor and aide in the attendance office [Applause] hello everyone i'm sad farhan and originally i was a little worried about coming up here tonight it's a it's a special occasion and i didn't want to mess it up at all but after hearing that applause i'm i'm all ready for it so to start off i would like to thank north for allowing me the opportunity and honor of being
011a speaker for this incredible moment in our lives this is something i've wanted to do for a long time coming and it's just unbelievable to see that dream finally come true thank you to all the teachers and faculty who made the last four years possible you put up with us even when we didn't make it easy looked out for us even when we didn't ask or deserve it and most importantly guided us even when we didn't know what to do it's kind of funny what you actually taught is probably only fifty percent of what we learned the other fifty percent is the culmination of all the life lessons and morals you guys embodied and for that i along with every other graduate here tonight am forever grateful another thank you to all the families that
012helped us get to where we are we don't nearly say it as much as we should but we love you guys and trust me one of the greatest things about tonight is that we get to make you guys proud with all the formalities out of the way i finally turned my attention to the guest of honor tonight's beautiful stars and people i can proudly call my friends the class of 2021 i was tasked with giving you guys some final advice about the future so as i've done my whole life and in true north high graduate fashion i sat there at three in the morning the day before wondering how to make this work and what to say and so i reflected let me quickly go over to you guys exactly what we've survived a pandemic
013that literally kept us locked in our houses online learning a school year without normalcy and sometimes being unable to see friends and family and that was just in the past year alone well my reflection made me realize is that we truly truly are the best not everyone could adapt the way we did persevere the way we did or thrive the way we did but now we all know better than most people how unexpected life can be hardship is commonplace and tragedy occurs but if nothing else i want you guys to take the last year as a representation a symbol on how to handle the coming chapters of your lives handle it with determination and grit we all struggled with something this year but tonight every single one of us is wearing a cap and gown
014so never lose that mindset handle it with positivity despite everything going wrong we found the bright side to things so that's the attitude we should always keep handle it with kindness and love we were there for each other during some of the boring zoom classes there for each other during our darkest of hours and there for each other to just have some fun together we all made high school memorable and i can give you the syad farhan promise that this kind of unity and this kind of compassion can get you farther in life than anything else who we are as people is simply a mosaic a mosaic of everyone who has ever been in our lives so with that in mind leave a good impression on all the souls you touch and as much as
015i want to keep talking to you i'm running out of time so i'll leave the stage with a list of short advice a couple of quick reminders never forget your time here the lessons and experiences we gained are good for a lifetime never forget that we're trojans through and through never hesitate to ask for help and never give up on yourself or anyone else never be afraid to be yourself and never be afraid to fight for what's right never be afraid to love and so for the last time you'll hear it as dgn trojans i hope you remember to always stay respectful responsible and engaged i love you all thank you syed on behalf of the entire student body i would like to take a moment to honor staff members who are retiring this year
016mr antonio mercado has worked in our building and grounds department for 23 years mr steve ruffalo has worked in the science department for 18 years and ms janet schwarz has been in the district for 14 years and has served as our very own principal for the last five years we are grateful for all of these steps for all that these staff members have done to support the students staff and dgn community please join me in a round of applause in recognition of their efforts the class of 2021 is grateful for the guidance and support all of our faculty members have given us during the past four years for their dedication to providing us with the best possible education and for preparing us for the road ahead i ask the faculty members who are here with
017us tonight to stand for recognition including those who are seated with our graduates please join the students in giving our faculty members a round of applause [Applause] thank you faculty thank you reese in his time at north reece has played football and was one of the captains was an elite leader and a positively north leader he also was a member of the national honor society spanish honor society change makers radio club and investment club next year reese will study economics at the university of illinois please give a round of applause for rhys i am honored to have the opportunity to speak to the class of 2021 this evening before i share a few thoughts with you i want to recognize our 2021 graduates who are entering the military will thomas barron kevin calvinis anthony franchi
018melissa jacob raynard tipton and luke wilson please rise so we can recognize you for your commitment to our country [Applause] thank you as i look out at our graduates i see young men and women who have accomplished a great deal both individually and as teams i see students who have meddled at state and even national competitions students who have received awards for writing art speech music sports chess and many other activities 297 students achieved a gpa after seven semesters of 3.4 and above 38 of those students earned a 4.4 or above on a 4.0 scale there is certainly an abundance of talent within the class of 2021 and i am incredibly proud of all of you for what you have accomplished during your time at north however i've been most impressed with the character of
019this class both as individuals and as a collective as we've heard from delaney and syed you were faced with many challenges in your four years at north some that were unique to you as an individual and some that were universal such as the pandemic and while the pandemic has greatly impacted all of you and forced you to learn differently and miss or reimagine the many traditional high school experiences i'm not going to spend my limited time talking about everything that you lost because quite frankly just by being here tonight you have shown that with perseverance and resilience you have won you have shown that you can overcome challenges don't forget this because well i certainly hope that we never experience a pandemic again i know that you will face challenges again and when that happens
020remember the words of roman emperor and stoic philosopher marcus aurelius look well into thyself there is a source of strength which will always spring up if out will always look there you are strong believe in yourself work hard and you will succeed but class of 2021 while i admire you for what you did and how you responded to the pandemic this is not your legacy the pandemic might have shaped who you are but it does not define you i've known you are a special class way before the pandemic never before have i seen a class who is so committed to improving school culture our community and our world at large this was evident in large gestures such as fundraisers and rallies and creating clubs like the empowerment club but this was also evident in your
021everyday behavior the way you treated others in classrooms in the hallways in extracurricular activities and in sports one of my favorite sayings is in a world where you can be anything be kind thank you for prioritizing kindness i hope you always will continue to do so similarly thank you for modeling the behaviors described in the lyrics of lovesome which was sung so beautifully tonight by our acapella choir as delaney said you have supported your friends and you have been deliberate about letting love in you could have been bitter and angry after this year but instead you turned toward love thank you for staying positive and hopeful especially when things got tough my wish for you is that you will always be deliberate about choosing to love and as such you will live a life you
022love class of 2021 many of you know of my fondness for starfish because of the story of an ordinary person making a difference i want you to know that not only have you made a positive difference for your classmates and for dgn as a whole you have made a difference for me personally as well i feel incredibly fortunate to have known you and i am a proud member to be a class of 2021 and i wish you all the best congratulations and now dr thiele and members of the board of education it is with great honor and pleasure that i present to you the north high class of 2021. as principal i certify that the graduating class of 2021 has met all of the requirements as set forth by the state of illinois and the
023board of education of district 99 and are hereby granted all the rights and privileges that correspond accordingly it is now my pleasure to introduce the superintendent of community high school district 99 dr hank thiele thank you principal shores i'd like to start out by congratulating the class of 2021 on all of your accomplishments during your entire high school career culminating in today's graduation celebration it really took three core groups to bring you to this moment first we should all recognize the family members that have helped you make it to this point in your lives many of them are here today you can point and wave this is the time to recognize that you know where they're at thank you mom and dad thank you family second there's been a great number of teachers coaches sponsors
024and other trusted adults in your lives they've all guided you to this point i'd like for you to just take a moment remember who those adults were in your life that really made an impact on you leading up to today and finally thank you graduates for all the years of hard work at school and in your own lives to arrive at today this marks the next step in your progression through life it has been an unforgettable four years here in district 99 i appreciate all that each of you has contributed to our school and to the greater community the district 99 legacy or the district 99 community is a legacy community many who walk our halls return to raise their own families here in fact many of them are probably here tonight if you're an
025alumni of either north or south high are two schools in district 99 please stand and be recognized [Applause] graduates regardless of what comes next in your life i want to remind you that this will always be your home you will always be welcome back here and i encourage you in the coming years to please come back and share your successes with us i for one can't wait to hear about your adventures and to learn about the difference that you make in the world it is now my privilege to recommend to the members of the board of education the north high class of 2021 to move forward as graduates of community high school district 99 congratulations graduate is graduates it has been my honor to serve you for the past four years i wish you the
026best in your future i now welcome forward dr nancy kupka board of education president to accept this year's graduates everybody's so tall congratulations what an accomplishment we are recognizing tonight and to echo uh ms schwarz comments not only have you completed your high school education but you have done so during a pandemic requiring grit and drawing on resources our past graduates have never had to draw on speaking for the board of education we are honored to accept and recognize the downers grove north graduating class of 2021 and wish you success in wherever your life takes you thank you [Applause] thank you dr thiele and dr kupka at this time we will begin conferring the diplomas i ask that our line leaders move into place and prepare the graduates for those in the audience i respectfully
027request that you remain in your seats and hold your applause and other acknowledgements until all students have been awarded diplomas in order to provide the appropriate recognition that each student deserves just as you want to hear the name of your child read so too will other parents and families any loud noise can drown out the reading of the next student's name please do not be responsible for preventing a student's name from being heard we thank you in advance for your appropriate and respectful behavior will the class of 2021 please come forward to receive your diplomas joshua agnoli elise adams mayor john achmann nathan ahern vincent oximet bisma ahmed christopher allen jillian anthony victor antonio tessa ahrens jillian aquila nicholas attension simone balarzon samuel baker ellie bakshas vana balawing daniel bonkaro nevaya banks piper baron marcus
028barkhaul edith barlin thomas baron jacob berry dean bacius erin beatty anthony bel castro alan belly rachel bender brian benton justin berghorst ann beda drew biolosky tyrell bittner adam blair smith carissa blemka renee boone liam bohr olivia bouvier mia bowers caitlin boyle kevin bozeman mega bradburn blyth brawn niall brennan elise brenner nolan brazino artemis brogan michaela brown emma budnik samuel bull jonathan bunniales amanda birdo evan burns angelo buscemi evan bustos sloan buxton carol cabrera alyssa cafferty kevin calvinis caitlin campbell william karlberg amelia carlson chloe carlson stephen carlson harold carlstead john carroll elijah carter samuel carter margaret casey nathan cerney elijah chen patrick chen sophia excuse me sophia shirelli emma cho michaela cicci mckenna chanot brando cividentova michael coleman melanie contreras cole cook ariana corona ryan cree claire creeden elizabeth cramer catherine crisp gavin croson madison cochran
029evan cummins orelli davalos samuel david savannah davis kenneth de guzman madison delgallo cj delorto nathan demos jessica de paul jake demos carolyn daring deepak dasor gabriela devitt brittany de bartolo raymond dixon agnesa de cana alexander dilkovsky garrett daberton theodore dobres molly dougherty alan dorantes emmy dolan nicholas dorantes noah donnell drew driscoll carrie dropnick jacqueline doolman cassidy duffield faith done delaney durbin maximilian dvorak caleb deuter tina ebel colin eber daniel ekman maxwell ein molly ellingson evelyn elstrom christopher emmert alice emmett elena and cena tyler andres kyle angstler farhan charles ferris mason farron catherine filiomani john philopolis emmett flannery ellison finley nora flannery julia fisher michael flavin maya fleener jackson flynn emma fodor maxwell foleys abigail falconing michael foreseppi renee force lily ford morgan fox anthony franchi franklin ryland gaspar giovanni free us trevor gaspar cole fulton
030zachary gayton rhianna garner ainsley glenn john gebby parker glenn jacqueline gomez jack goddard francisco godins romy gonzalez aponte lindsay good abigail goodman claire gorey aiden grant houlihan matea greeny justin griesbaum emily grayfon aiden grisenthwaite franklin griffin kira gruber devin gross vitter gunda ryan guerin eby hottie emily guy nia hattie melena harris henry hagen gracie guads benjamin hallberg aiden hall quinn hanley sean halloran david hansen trigvy hanson connor hana tia hengels asriel henriques paige herbert amaya herrera cesar hernandez patrick heverin nicholas hinkle lamar hinton alexander hoffman kyle hopkins maxwell hopkinstead megan horsley grace jose joseph hudec edward wren jacob hurtado pedro ibada emily igo jared imperial ava irving elena isaacson julia isaacson reese isaacson melissa jacob patrick jackson emma james lauren jenkowskis andrew janowick conrado javier uzair jahwed daniel jelinek maya jennings matthew jezek kyle jillick
031jesus jimenez daniel jobe amelia johnson hayley johnson genoa johnson lillian johnson mark johnson mihail jovanov megan joyce samantha joyce edie jurassus mila karnakanova jillian cartoonist casco quinn kavanagh ashling care liam carney searsha care kellnar nathan kerr miranda king patrick ken andreas clattus emma klonowski john william newton timothy cook thea excuse me theo keister emily coors jonah kopecky jacob kaczynski angelica kovara bogdan kozag alexander kozaritz colin lolly noah lamantia lauren laper william larkin paige larson eliana leskowski julia lotocha thomas lawrence john leonard dominic leone mary lurch boyan lee sean lifka may lindell tara liska william lloyd kyle lockman henry locker grace lockerbie finia loftus adil lokenduwala nora long carlos lopez vanessa lopez jacqueline lucas jeremiah lorgio lapescu quinn mckenzie matthew lapescu harrison maher brian mesh emma mazzasius nicholas macrovic noah majerzig stephen mackerzak davion mallory abigail
032manik eduardo marquez lucas mara david marshall jr patrick martens elise martin sophia martinez claire matthews brian martinez zach masoriagos joseph martinez alexa mccartney william mcgary christopher mcguire mackenzie mcguire alexandra mcmillan colin mcnulty grace mctigue haley mendez maximus manzuni nicholas mezes elliott michaels john milkey imelda mikash [Music] alyssa miller micah miller nur mirza casey mitchell thomas mooney demarier moore christine mora patricia moran carlos moreno jacob morgan david morgan emmett morgan [Music] christian morris alexa moy catherine murray elena myers reagan myers hemani nye madeleine nesbitt nali waikita morgan naylor david nelson luke nelson angus nemeth joshua nicholas lucas nielsen julia nemec manu akash nathia suthan luk nosich thomas nottleman reagan novak jocelyn novieli marr avery noka owen nystrom eamonn o'connell molly o'toole caitlyn oak emma olson jackson omori annika oplanek maxwell or nick christopher ortega lauren ortega
033alison ostrowski luke orrada ryan pedovani william palmer lucas paulshmitus gaia polabinskis zachary pantuso noah perdue michael parsons annika paskowitz siobhan patel julian patino caden patrick jack paul nathan pouch joseph pavilik edward payne brian perez cindy perez karen perez aaron peters justin peters abigail peterson paige pettit ali petkova brook pettit ethan petro eric petrick andrew pitts caroline plume jason pluster maxwell pulaski anastasia polygonides eli polowski ethan pombert corrina pope pounds greta prepachal kevin radoski ryan quinn gabriella raymond chloe radicky jordan randall rohit rajput madeleine redpath tressa raypack danielle reyes amron rexhappi gusta ribochiti guillermo reyes william riemer annalise richardson rachel rios lindsey ringbloom zen roberts mason roberts sean rodriguez joshua roddy jasmine rosales sophia rodriguez connor ryan matthew rowley madeleine sorry emily reimers maya roman alexis saba david roman paige sadler victoria sanchez joshua solomon lucas
034saranecki arnapop sancia madeleine schallmoser matthew shelbach anya shu hannah schultz jalen shumpert griffin scofield aditya sethi benjamin zachary shanley sarah shake zachary shipinski olivia shirk charles seibert jalen sims grant sukis zane sedopkin antonio smith lydia smith liberty solberg clerk soma roy southworth jessica spahn taylor spear matthew spencer annelise spinozza amy spritzer sarah stanley william stanissick alexandra stankievich gabriella stellato aiden stevens wilson stein nolan stevens samuel grace sweeney andrew swenson lillian sweeney julia shawstack ashley schwooski kai takadina mason taft nathan talag kaylee terhar gianna thayer jane tyson ty thiessen christopher thulin alyla tingson reynard tipton jimmy torrios ashley torres savannah toth ronnie torres ryan trausch jackson travers cindy trejo brendan truitt kyra trujillo hope chosick lucas turk joshua oblies [Music] lucas utterback simus alison van de wetering isabella vangel ryan barcelona irving vela jordan vicenzio alexa
035wall michael wallen kaden walter jesse way douglas westberg megan wachowski autumn wilhelm francis wilson luke wilson sydney wilson daria whitsack austin whittam michael wojcik marcelo tosic william ray nathan yee brandon youngfeldt anthony murkowski arden zajac isabella zamora justina zindal lucas zeleczewski sydney zuniga liliana schmer how about a round of applause for our graduates [Applause] students please rise [Applause] if you have not already done so you should remove your move your tassel to the left side of your cap to signify your graduation from high school at this time i would like to dismiss the faculty members to form the staff receiving line during the recessional the combined bands will perform under the direction of senior carissa blumka karissa is a member of the trojan marching band and has served as drum major the last two years
036she also is co-president of the dgn ukulele club and is a member of the tri-m music honor society and the math team karissa is a national merit finalist and has received numerous awards including several from the illinois music educators association during her time at north next year she will study instrumental music education at the university of northern iowa graduates during the recessional please wait for the section leaders to dismiss you by row to the field house or to the purple gym to receive your diplomas thank you to all of our guests for joining us tonight and for being such a gracious audience we ask that you remain in your seats until the conclusion of the recessional congratulations class of 2021 you are now proud alumni of downers grove north high school [Applause] [Music] mm-hmm [Music]
037so [Music] time [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] you