001[Music] all right oh i don't know oh okay my oh [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] so [Music] what's up dude now [Music] so [Music] please good afternoon welcome to the 97th commencement of columbia high school i'm brian reese the principal here ladies and gentlemen i know i just had you sit down but this time we're going to rise with a presentation of colors being brought forward by our air force junior rotc then remain standing for the playing of the national anthem followed by the pledge of allegiance the national anthem is from an earlier recording of our band and the pledge of allegiance will be led by our 2021 eagle scout recipient peyton westfall you can come on what arms [Music] so [Music] if you join me in the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance thank
002you so right right [Music] forward thank you very much you may be seated this is an important milestone milestone for our graduating class of 2021 and for the families friends and loved ones who are watching today both in person and online as principal of the high school i'd like to thank the graduates for the fond memories you provided the school and community over the years thank you as principal of columbia high school i'd like to thank you graduates for the fond memories you provide our school and community over the years i congratulate you on your success and wish you luck in your future endeavors our first point of business will be to recognize our top 10 graduating seniors if they would please rise they're wearing white skulls anna bauer patrick bernard natalie bush kylie cleveland
003alexandria evans peter congratulations not only is graduation an opportunity to recognize the seniors moving on but it's also an opportunity to recognize the retirees that have helped shape them through the years our retiring staff if you'd please stand miss gloria ely mr stephen conrad miss linda malone and mr craig writerski [Applause] thank you for your years of dedication and service congratulations on your retirement and good luck to everyone on your future endeavors we'll have three speeches today the first will be given by the senior class president emily chase emily please join me on the stage [Applause] hello everyone we started off here 13 years ago in kindergarten crying and hugging our parents goodbye today as high school graduates will do the same the past four years at columbia high school have flown by and now
004here we are ready to graduate but we didn't do it alone i wanted to use this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who's helped the class of 2021 get to this point thank you to our teachers for always pushing and encouraging us to do our best you always go above and beyond both inside and outside the classroom to support your students during this crazy year you've continued to connect with your students and thought of creative ways to make this year special you've constantly challenged us to do our best and we're always there to help us when we needed it thank you to our coaches and club advisors who taught us that high school wasn't just about homework we learned how to balance schoolwork with other activities a skill that will help us for the
005rest of our lives we learned about sportsmanship leadership and how to work together as a team thank you to our school staff and administrators for keeping the school clean safe and organized this year has been tough on everyone but you've shown strength when faced with a new challenge over the years you've kept us informed and on track for the future thank you to our parents and families who we wouldn't be here without you supported us in countless ways from driving us to sports practices to helping us with homework or listening to our complaints you've always been there to cheer us on you made sure we were happy and healthy and we will forever be grateful and finally thank you to our friends and classmates for keeping school entertaining and helping each other through difficult times
006together we've created a bond and memories that will last a lifetime to everyone else who has helped us succeed thank you i am so grateful to be a part of the graduating class of 2021 at columbia high school and as we go our separate ways don't forget to be real chs next we'll have our salutatorian kelsey olendorf kelsey please join me good afternoon friends families teachers and administrators closer okay good afternoon friends families teachers and administrators i would first like to thank you all for being here and for your continued support and advice that has led us here today i speak for all when i say that we appreciate you and we could not have done this without you next i would like to congratulate my classmates the class of 2021 we did it as
007i sat down to write this speech i tried to think of things that embodied the class of 2021 and a plethora of thoughts filled my brain from the many late nights spent studying to all the memories created while spending hours traveling to and from competitions one thing kept popping up in my brain roller coasters now i know what you're probably thinking oh great another speech with a cheesy cliche however as cliche as it might sound high school is like a roller coaster ride before freshman year we all waited in anticipation as we were about to embark on the tallest and scariest roller coaster known as high school as we were shuffling through the line navigating registration and a new environment we finally arrived at the beginning of our wild ride as freshmen we all picked
008our seats which represented our hobbies our passions and the classes that we took over time these seats may have changed however we became more comfortable and knowledgeable and learned how to persevere and have fun at the end of that first year and every other year following it we all got off the ride only look only to look forward to new adventures on any ride there are going to be ups and downs however i think it is safe to say that starting this school year our senior year it felt like we were stuck on the tracks not knowing how it would pan out we faced a lot of challenges from learning online to navigating the restrictions due to covid to not knowing if our sports teams were going to be able to compete not only students
009but teachers had to adapt to teaching both in person and online students i witnessed firsthand a teacher teach a whole lesson to the class just to find out that their microphone was muted in any new or unknown situation it is easy for frustration to take over however we did not let these new challenges take over our senior year we did not lose hope we continued to learn and grow as students when i think of the class of the phrase by winston churchill comes to mind success is not final failure is not fatal it is the contr it is the courage to continue that counts i know our senior year wasn't like how our freshman selves would have imagined it but we faced the challenges we showed up and did not give up of course you
010can't ride a roller coaster without buckling in your seatbelt they are there throughout the entire ride through the ups and downs to ensure that we are safe they are there when we feel discouraged whether that be from struggling into class or having drama between friends but they are also there when we feel at our best whether that be from getting an a on a chemistry test or getting accepted into our dream college whether we were rising up or catapulting down they were there all the way until the end now i encourage you to think about who your seatbelt was throughout your high school career who encouraged you when you felt down and cheered for you when you're at your best i hope that you thank these people for their unwavering commitment i would like to
011take a moment to thank all the people who acted as my seatbelt throughout high school thank you to my parents for your love and support throughout everything thank you to my friends and family for all your wisdom and guidance lastly thank you to my twin brother colin who pushed me to be my best i know you probably already know this but my life would not be the same without you and now here we are at the end of our final rollercoaster ride and we can triumphantly say that even though we might have been afraid or nervous at first we were brave enough to take the ride and even manage to have fun along the way i would like to again congratulate the class of 2021 a class full of state scholars athletes and overall great
012people i am proud to say that i was part of the 2021 class of columbia high school as we are all about to part ways and start new journeys on a substantially larger coaster towards adulthood i can confidently say that we are all well equipped with the skills and passion to flourish in college as well as in the professional workforce i know that all of you will find happiness and success in anything you choose to do but above all i hope that every once in a while you throw up your hands and enjoy the ride thank you our last speech will be given by the valedictorian natalie bush natalie please come on up well people we finally made it most of us have been together for 13 years it's crazy how fast time flies after
013our last day of school i started reflecting on our time here in columbia i remembered our excitement in parkview when dr b would read on the roof i recalled all of us dressing up for prairie day and our very own human wax museums then we made it to middle school and our world started expanding we not only started changing rooms for different classes we started exploring interest in band choir musical theater productions and sports i still can't believe how many conference championships both our girls and boys sports teams won in eighth grade i also reminisced about roller skating and p.e the luaus and our first two dances then we thought we were so old because we finally made it to high school we learned to pick very wisely where to sit at lunch on the
014first day of school because that's probably where you're going to be stuck eating for the rest of the semester i thought back fondly on all our crazy dress-up days and spirit weeks we can brag for the rest of our lives about winning the spirit stick two years in a row i'm so glad to have made all these memories with you all high school has taught me the importance of being true to myself being yourself makes accomplishments feel much more rewarding and it makes the journey to those accomplishments much more fun as well i hope all of you find the courage to be unapologetically yourselves moving forward in your lives the world needs individuality as well so find you we're good at and be proud of it if we're all good at the same thing the
015world would be lacking in many aspects for example if the whole world was exactly like me everyone would be pretty smart at math and science but no one would no one's car would be running because no one would know how to change their oil or even how to open the hood have confidence and be proud in any profession you choose because we need everyone's individual talents to have a functioning society if you only remember one thing from this speech i hope it's this quote by michelle obama success isn't about the amount of money you make it's about the difference you make in people's lives i want to challenge you all moving forward to not only work hard to be successful in college your career the military or whatever path you have chosen but be the
016difference in people's lives as minor myers junior said go into the world and do well but more importantly go into the world and do good i'm confident that you will all make a positive impact and help others our grade is full of difference makers and i'm proud to be part of it just be kind to others and i guarantee you will make the world a better place life will throw its challenges your way but i know you will all make it through life struggles and do great things in this world i mean we've already made it through what might be the hardest year of our lives we survived not only the craziness of senior year but we did it during a global pandemic if we can go to school remotely from our bedrooms for a
017year and still manage to successfully graduate we can do anything i wrap up i'd like to thank everyone who has guided my classmates and me to this point thank you to the school board all members of our administration and staff and of course thank you to our wonderful teachers i know this year in a pandemic was just as hard for you as it was for the students but your hard work doesn't go unnoticed i want to thank all the parents and families especially mine for all the support over the last four years i seriously couldn't have done it without you and of course i have to thank my two older brothers because nothing motivates you quite like good old sibling rivalry and finally i want to thank my classmates thanks for a great four years
018we've all been through a lot together more than we could have ever imagined but we finally made it we did it we're graduating and now it's time to celebrate and as always be real chs right there at the conclusion of each school year the faculty and staff of columbia high school nominate and select one graduating senior for the outstanding senior award the student is selected based on their academic achievement but more importantly the content of their character strong work ethic and overall dedication to the total school program this year's recipient for the outstanding senior award selected by the faculty is natalie bush now for the moment we've all been waiting for the presentation of diplomas to the class of 2021 did you guys enjoy go ahead and come on up here we go anna irene
019adams mason robert albers zachary daniel anderson [Applause] easton timothy andrews jason joseph anthony katina marie and tonis dominic robert hower jack thomas augustine anna marie barr age haley biermann taylor lee biermann patrick james berner [Applause] kyra elsie bivens samuel louis bolasino [Applause] samuel joseph benaldi caroline kate bosch bryson douglas borsaw [Applause] grayson douglas borisov carson james bridges miguel chase brown macy blair brown [Applause] kyle christopher buddy [Applause] natalie christine bush emily noel buss [Applause] samuel alexander campbell [Applause] allison elizabeth carr [Applause] alicia eileen kaya abigail christine cerda emily catherine chase kylie rose cleveland [Applause] kyle stephen connor brennan michael craig ashlynn marie crawford grace and daley dominic victor dalpaz lydia ruth dowell page lorraine drabont alexandria elizabeth evans jocelyn ray faust heidi lynn fikes [Applause] brittany rose feichdel [Applause] gloria gene fisher nicholas aidan foreign
020mary jewell gassaway [Applause] emily grace gillen jessa nicola ginovene jordan capri giovannetti caitlyn elizabeth gediki [Applause] andrew wesley graves eli wayne goomersheimer peter jonathan gutconnect trey jordan hemminghouse bryce andrew hildebrand jacob john hoffman jared john hoffman jackson ridge holmes evan robert michael horn matthew ryan howard sophia jacqueline hoop grant william koch huey malvady natalie hoy kyle david jackson ainsley pauline jacobus michael sims jacobus [Applause] jonah seth james grace danielle janet luke edward jurgens dane robert jordan kennedy may jordan rodney clayton kelly ava isabel corey [Applause] zane h kish kyler ray commercial [Music] emily nadine kolenberger mason james kolenberger malia gene cocina [Applause] dylan allen law jessica lynn lambert melane shay laxton daniel james lechner megan k levan samantha nicole linder london sincere little aaron james luttrell alexander james [Applause] riley christopher maloney madison julia marquez
021hayden cole martin [Music] [Applause] jonathan scott martin trenton shawn martin andrew james maldon collin hayes mclaren emma grace merriman [Applause] connor christopher missy [Applause] alexander dale moody ryan timothy moody kalista emma moore [Applause] martin edward mueller grant william narzinski joseph michael nichols [Music] luke ryan olsen [Applause] kelsey grace olendorf [Applause] colin patrick ollendorff carson renee packard [Music] carly sue paxton meredith elena peyton olivia isabella peterson chad michael phelps evan jeffrey pruitt [Applause] cole kendrick puckett [Applause] garrett michael poulter [Applause] grace catherine raftery aaron joseph ron [Music] landon keith renner molly kathleen ricky rebecca elizabeth riley zachary donald roby oliver charles romero [Applause] gregory nikolai rudock [Applause] christopher joseph sakalowski reese victoria schaefer tate daniel schilling madeleine jade schrader oliver tate schrader isaac lewis schreckenberg morgan grace seals hayden james seiler rose marie sipple anna victoria
022smegola in gold cosmos maximus saris isaiah evan starr corey allen stump hayley marie stump dawson lyle sukup spencer samuel tate gabriella taylor [Applause] grace elizabeth teeter aaron chesley two-train molly caroline tippett megan carla tremblay corrine margaret tullis [Applause] mallory grace underwood alexa lynn vitale payton volkl [Applause] kate elena von boco hannah marie walters peyton benjamin westfall isabelle violet marie whaley adam robert caitlin danielle wilhelm jillian rose wisniewski max joseph wolfel austin gregory yoko nolan parker zarek james sheamus phillip zarlingo i'd also like to mention adam lee weil was in an accident was not able to join us or hadn't was in an accident wasn't able to join us but i want to make sure i read that off as well so adam so graduates after the ceremony over at the concession stand there's white packets
023that have your actual diploma in it that you'll need to pick up we wanted to leave them under your chairs but with the rain we didn't want to do that so before you leave make sure you pick those up at this time i present to you and i thank you for your patience through this little bit of rain but of course it would rain a little bit after a year like this i'd like to present to you the columbia high school graduating class of 2021. congratulations graduates thank you for joining us i look forward to seeing all the great things the class of 2021 will accomplish [Music] thanks let's go [Applause] [Music] uh you still going [Music] you