001[Music] so [Music] do [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so okay good morning class of 2021 and thank you to everyone who is here today welcome to our first ever graduation at max anders field an occasion that will not be easily forgotten congratulations to every student on their accomplishments today this year has been full of uncertainty and sadness and instead of talking about all that we have lost i want to bring light into a dark year as i was thinking about what to write i looked at my fish swimming in circles around its tank as i was watching it i started to think about how north has been like our own fish tank the past four years we've been swimming in circles walking in
002the same doors every day walking the same halls and going in the same classrooms whether going to college trade school the workforce or the military we are all moving on to bigger things in our lives together we have been preparing to leave our very own fishbowl north high school and move on to a new fish tank our future successes as we go our separate ways we can all say we have one thing in common all of the life lessons we learned from being at north together we are moving them to our next fish tank to help us thrive in our new environment i invite you today to appreciate these lessons you've worked on building we will each use those same lessons no matter how far away we are from each other today is the day
003to celebrate those achievements the world is an ocean of opportunities and we are just learning how to swim good morning and welcome to the 151st graduation ceremony of columbus north high school i'd like to welcome all of the guest presents today we're all pleased they could join us in this trying time to celebrate this year's graduates this year especially we acknowledge the difficulties that we have all faced and how they have impacted our routines everyone is in molded and shaped by those routines granted some more than others wake up eat brush your teeth drive to school go to class every individual has catered and fine-tuned their routines to make each day run as smoothly as possible but what happens when a titanic roadblock is in the way that jeopardizes the comfort and safety of that
004routine we are forced to adapt and that is exactly what the class of 2021 did we adapted and we conquered with the help of the amazing teachers and staff of our school now we face a new challenge going to college or going to the workforce or whatever we may be doing our routines are about to change in a significant way covet 19 has been a true testament to our abilities to adapt and we are better for it covet affected this class more than most granting us the realization while a change and routine may be stressful or scary we look back and be grateful for the change and its impact on our lives our class and experience know that no other class ever has or ever will and we are all better prepared for any future
005obstacles because of it as we share our final moments at this school and start the next chapters of our lives i encourage everyone to live resiliently if we learn to do so well this year i want to thank all the teachers and staff that helped mold us and encourage us all to be the best versions of ourselves whether future educators blue collar workers health care workers businessmen and women or whatever else our class may become we'll go off on different paths and form different futures but no matter what we'll always have this school in common and we will always be bulldogs thank you [Applause] okay you're on good morning to everyone to be honest i expected to attend this ceremony through a screen dressed in my oversized hoodie with my trusty portable fan but i'm
006honored to speak to you in person today before i begin i want to thank the parents the family members the teachers the counselors the friends the pets and of course google me and zoom for helping us get here today while preparing for the speech it was tough to recall a high school experience that wasn't overshadowed by mass and virtual meetings a vivid memory from my freshman year was my excitement in buying my first log yearbook and hoping to compare to a senior yearbook to see all the changes in myself and my fellow classmates and while the physical changes are apparent some through the removal of braces and others through growth spurts i reflected on how we had changed personally throughout our time at school about four years ago today we were graduating middle school and
007entering a different academic and social environment i remember having bitten off all my nails in anticipation of an unknown experience the night before the first day of school despite having practiced and timed the various routes to my classes on schedule pick-up day true story it took me three wrong turns before i made it to my bulldog time class if anything these experiences have taught me that you have to expect the unexpected in high school we could have never truly predicted when mr clark would hop on the morning announcements to grace us with his yo-yo bulldogs chant and we certainly couldn't have predicted the tornado lockdown a day before our spring break back in sophomore year truthfully uncertainty can be scary as humans we're all control freaks even for the messiest of us who use our
008backpacks as folders to the neatest of us who've used planners from day one it is natural to want to be in control of the course of events in our lives so when in life and when in high school specifically curveballs are thrown into the paths we were envisioning for ourselves it can be easy for the negative feelings to take over grief reluctance disappointment feelings that make it feel like the end of the world or at least the end of the world as we know it we as teenagers are told to push through it that times will get better because as long as it's not the actual end of the world it will be okay right i mean was the likelihood of an end of the world scenario in our lifetimes enter march of 2020 the
009moment i heard that people were frantically stocking up on toilet paper i knew change was coming the uncertainty in the first few months of the pandemic was immeasurable plans were canceled apocalyptic movies trended and for almost the first time in my life i had seen so many adults unprepared we entered high school as children wanting to learn through our experiences and our mistakes hoping to become prepared and enter as adults for the real world out there our years through high school introduced us to a plethora of experiences that we as growing teenagers were unfamiliar with whether it was driving our first cars or going to our first dances and as we grew we faced our fair share of heartbreaks and failures losing a football game that you had spent months practicing for growing distant from
010your childhood friends looking in the mirror and feeling insecure all personal battles that serve as curveballs in our stories a global pandemic more than anything else has forced a sense of disempowerment upon us as we watch the loss of our junior prom sports games trike races american pie and more we cannot deny that the coven 19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on our experiences however you the class of 2021 sitting here today in your blue caps and gowns are a testament to the fact that our battles do not define us or negate the successes that we have achieved regardless of the uncertainty and unexpected events forced upon us we are moving forward taking one step after the other to get here today the uncertainty faced as fearful as it was is not unknown to
011us it was there on the first day we walked into this building looking for classrooms and new faces and it will continue to be there as we find new as we find new jobs and explore new relationships as we settle down and as we start anew so let's embrace this uncertainty this change who knows what's next to come but if anything our experiences have prepared us for this upcoming stage of life every failed assignment every cancelled plan and every end of the world feeling has prepared us for the acceptance to be ready to lose control of the rains guiding our stories we can now take our lessons and experiences and continue to move forward with this next phase of our lives so congratulations class of 2021 today is your day thank you okay good morning
012everyone 13 or so years ago this class began a journey which has spanned the majority of our lifetimes up to this moment a journey which recounted in hours months of 15 842 hours spent in school buildings during the school day although this is a lot of time it does not account for the time we have spent outside of the school day growing as a person or seeking fulfillment of our personal interests these other uncountable hours they are spent outside of academic school or where we have grown to be individuals these are the hours where we have chased our dreams i'd like to interject for a moment to recognize those who have given us the opportunity to use these hours to chase these dreams the individuals who i'm referring to are parents standing up here i
013think i can speak for most of you when saying we are so thankful for what you have done for us we could not have made it here without you to my own parents thank you for your constant support and encouragement i definitely would not have made it here without you now addressing those directly in front of me my peers and my friends we have been at the school for four years and we have taken part in all kinds of different activities after school some of us have spent the majority of our hours at practice constantly refining our skills learning a new drill strengthening our cake or making ourselves overall faster better and stronger we did all these things in preparation for that big game and to make the people around us proud of our achievements
014to our athletes be proud of your outstanding work on the field you've done an amazing job representing the bulldogs across the state of indiana others of us we spend our extra hours at work making money for ourselves or for families we work to make money to enjoy we work to put experience on our resumes or we work to ensure there is money to feed those we love whatever the motivation was we work to make our experience as humans better i commend those of you who have found the time to juggle your class schedule along with spending multiple hours at work outside of the classroom a great majority of us also spend lots of extra hours making friends strengthening bonds or enjoying the moment we spent time going to north versus east games taking part in
015the trike race or hanging out at each other's houses some of us chose to make connections with our peers which will hopefully last a lifetime we found a circle of friends we can rely on when we can no longer rely on ourselves lastly some of us chose to spend a chunk of our extra time refining the skills which will help us when we step back into the building we chose to spend our time preparing for our academic future we chose to spend our time finding new problems and we chose to spend time finding solutions to these problems our class had to adapt to block scheduling online learning and frequent internet outages when we needed wi-fi the most our class learned to adapt our learning style to something never before seen in history we have all
016chosen to spend our extra hours chasing goals in the hope of finding fulfillment regardless of which path you have chosen be proud of your past decisions and own them seated in this place at this moment in time is where you should look at yourself and be proud of who you are look at your peers and be part of who they are you can't go back and change the past so you might as well learn to be proud of your decisions still if you can't bring yourself to be proud of your choices or you wish it could have been done differently you have plenty of time to go out and do the things you wish you had done personally i wish i had spent more time growing my relationships during my four years at north i
017should have put my time into more experiences with others than just academics because at the end of the day nobody will remember what score you got in a single assignment except maybe you but you and your friends will always remember all the fun you had and let's say 11 30 pm on a saturday night driving around town with the music as loud as it will go heading to nowhere in particular this experience though cost many hours of my time hours which didn't give me more knowledge or better grades gave me memories which are priceless although i don't regret the decisions i made to get where i am i do look back and wonder what my life would look like had i stayed at my friends houses for a couple more hours on our team more
018often with my family or reconnected with people i stopped talking to after middle school i understand that i paved the road i took to to sorry i understand that i paved the road i took to get to this podium with time time i could have spent on more experiences building memories like the car ride with my friends although i can't go back and change the past we can always change the future i want you all in the audience to think of your figurative car rides at night think of the moments you spend doing what is important to you think of everything you got out of those experiences now if you're someone like me think of the time you have wasted time spent on essentially nothing time you have spent twiddling your thumbs this time wasted
019is time which could be used for making memories time which could be spent doing something important or even time which could be spent sleeping a little bit more unless you have perfect time management which is doubtful there's more you could be doing with the limited time you have use it for something important regardless of what you deem to be important but please don't waste it as a final thought the only thing i ask of you all is to take this message and remember it use your time for something important have no regrets go out and do the things you wish you had done in the past before it's too late to do them any longer go out and apply for that job position go ask that girl or guy out go play basketball with your
020friends go out and apply for the scholarship you didn't think you could have gotten going forward gotta make memories go go live a little bit more spend your time to improve yourself academically and physically use your time a little better to treat yourself to great experiences lastly when you leave this field be proud of who you are and promise yourselves that you will spend your time in the best way you could have imagined it thank you all and congratulations to the class of 2021 hmm class of 2021 on behalf of the staff faculty and administration of columbus north high school to all students participating in the commencement ceremonies today we say congratulations what a wonderful time of life know as you leave columbus north high school that we love you we are encouraged by your
021positive contributions while here your efforts remind us that there are good things ahead for all of us lauren and max tricia and arturo thank you for your remarks it's a quick recap of what you just heard one don't fear change two there is little comfort in that comfort zone three despite uncertainty our experience have prepared us for the future and four use your time for something important have no regrets outstanding messages each year as i prepare for graduation and i reflect upon the virtues of each class there are always individual accomplishments each class has a collective persona as the principle when i reflect upon the last 441 days from march 13th to today i am humbled by your characteristics those things that you have learned and demonstrated to be here on this field graduating today
022you have shown grit and determination into that tapestry you have woven flexibility and creativity you have prepared yourself for a world that now needs you your knowledge your wisdom and your kindness so today my thoughts of what this class has taught me could be summed up in a quote from oliver wendell holmes jr quote i would not give a fig for simplicity on this side of complexity but i would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity you have been through challenges that many would consider complex you're better because of it you have developed strong habits of mind and you've learned to live the bulldog way your next steps now await you the exciting news throughout your life there will always be some complexity because you have paid the price it takes
023to get through this figurative storm now you have a pattern to find simplicity on the other side of complexity don't forget the pattern breathe refocus work hard and trust class of 2021 you came here with goals and aspirations and today you leave standing a little taller being a little better reaching a little further you have entered columbus north high school to learn and now our charge to you is go forth and serve at this time i present the columbus north high school class of 2021 to dr jim roberts superintendent of schools and in doing so i certify that they have met all the requirements necessary for graduation dr roberts greetings one year ago we held a historic graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 due to the impact of covet 19 we held the first
024virtual graduation ceremony in school corporation history today we hold another historic graduation ceremony one that can also be attributed to the impact of covet 19. an outdoor celebration that if not the first for this school corporation ever is the first in a very very long time family members friends and staff members thank you for the unwavering support you have provided to our graduating seniors as they navigated the unpredictable path of this school year graduates congratulations to you for your patience flexibility and resilience as you managed the many obstacles in your way stayed on course and completed this race a race that became a little more complicated when on friday march 13th 2020 over 14 months ago our school corporation made the announcement that due to covet 19 we would not immediately return to school following
025spring break as we all now know that tap on the pause button became a full stop as governor holcomb eventually closed schools for the remainder of your junior year during that time in verbal and written statements to our staff members i ask that they do whatever it takes yes i was drawing from the imagine dragon song whatever it takes to get us successfully through the school year as we work through the summer to prepare for what we hoped would be a somewhat normal start to this school year your final one your senior year i announced to our staff members perhaps to some chagrin that this was the year of yes yes we can yes we are yes we will we would again do whatever it takes to make this the best year possible given the
026unusual circumstances to ensure that each of our students each of you could have a productive school year as i look out at you i am filled with pride with what our staff members and you have been able to accomplish you have endured quite the tumultuous time you have persevered you have arrived at this time this place prepare to start this next race of your life a race that takes you into the real world you have done whatever it takes my wife and i have two grandkids easton and ivy when ivy who is nearly two years old does something whether good or bad she quickly thrusts her arm in the air and proudly proclaims i did it smears pink toothpaste all over a door i did it throws toys all across the floor i did it
027brushes her teeth do cleans toys and put them away i did it brushes her teeth to end the day i did it i smile when i think about ivy i did it i also smile thinking about you you did it you have gotten to this day this moment you've had some help along the way but as comedian carol burnett once said only i can change my life no one can do it for me putting yourself today in the chair on which you currently sit is about you so like ivy it is very appropriate for you to thrust your arm in the air and proudly proclaim i did it because you did and the door to your dreams has been opened because of it members of the columbus north high school class of 2021 by the
028power vested in me by the state of indiana and our bartholomew consolidated school corporation board of trustees i hereby certify you as graduates of our school system congratulations i need a driver's license curtis owen abendroth jace alexander abraham haley joe acton sarah jane adams aditya agrawal henry enrique aguilar vasquez george luke akaila dustin delangelo almo hernandez anahita amir poor eleanor elise anderson iron adores arau ortiz arie arbuckle naomi argetta ventura james brian armstrong nathaniel ray osterman desean patrick austin arisandi avalar carlos avila jorge emilio avila bailon darren adir ayala alyssa nicole ayers jacob d bailey page joanne morgan baker parker james ballard blake christopher barker mckenzie autumn barnett abigail marie barr gage alexander bain lucy elizabeth beck cowie petraglia benedetti keegan james benjamin eric billingsley luke timothy bless austin shea bodhi jaden elizabeth boston mason
029montgomery brandsteader cadence raeanne branham edgar mauricio brito nevaeh rochelle broughton kiara gene brown nathan lawrence brown hannah m bryant jennifer buenrostro figueroa tierney nicole burton samuel robert kane haley and kaluya aaliyah renee campbell emma gail campbell quincy de pre-caps ilse janneth carbajal gomez kyle mark carlson kaden cole carpenter jocelyn electra carroll cesario anthony j chasteen andrew brian clark ashton david clarke emily lauren clark nevaeh star kaufman curtis allen compton andrea contreras alana rose cook matthew alexander cooper erica don corbiles luis a cordova mendez rebecca corpus adria b cox ethan scott crawford nya christine croft samantha grace crossman olivia may crowder peyton elaine dargel perby dass jackson richard davis adriana cecilia deaton cameron elaine denney emma grace derringer t earth nicoons desai anthony stephen de spain samuel john devore mahul s dillon ding dio ding jordan
030daniel dominguez caleb nathan dooley zoe lynn doherty isaiah michael drake [Music] reid henry duncan laura ladayra duro cody m dyer gabriel michael ferguson riley madison ferguson samuel colson ferguson cindy jared ferreira ocampo martin lee figueroa emma ruby fillingworth gabriel scott foley je bryson matthew ford connor alan franklin hannah joy franklin miyu fujiwara michael anthony gambiani alan garcia andres garcia edgardo jose garcia carina garduno serrano reedy garg avdud makoon godki jacob andrew gibson jacob thomas gilliam luke joseph golding ramses gonzalez on ginzi gonzalez santiago kevin h graham kyle l greathouse lauren elizabeth grider samuel wesley gross ashley guerrero sydney rose guthrie karina guzman ogden savannah nicole hacker noah isaac william hadley sarah elizabeth grace hadley trey elias haley emma elizabeth harden leah marie harden rhys michael harmon celeste emilyn jordan harris anna elizabeth hatton morgan riley
031healey nathaniel a heathman amy camille henriksen angie jaciel hernandez jesus e hernandez diana hernandez ortiz ruby lee harrington keegan lee hill elena ho sidney noel hollers alexander reese holloway carl averyn holt lily des marie ruben noah james hubbard blake michael huffman colvin mill iorio david jaimes acampo luke montana jesse michaela marie jesse kion israel zane giles isaac d jimenez lawrence james johnson mackenzie lynn johnson sean joseph valeria juarez trujillo seamus c.p kelly caleb wayne kendrick jasmine ketchum jamal carlos king cassidy hope clave cole reed claffman carson james kleinhelter emily ann kleinhelter megan denise kleinhelter joseph klepper christina jane knock katherine kohlhaus andrew mark krueger benjamin david kushner okay we're ready samuel patrick larkin hannah larson benjamin edward lavelle josie elizabeth lawson samuel j lawson allison ann lay carly marie lay angelique dawn lee christopher j
032lee grace rose lemley maxine lynn eda johanna lind holly marie lynn royce a lofton katie sue long brian lopez michael john loveland bryce noble lynn robert ezekiel paul lyons luis a madrid a martinez elise and meschino trevor james mayton matsunu annalee jean matsar ruthann mayer aiden scott mcallister thomas murphy mccarrick jordan lee mccreery hayden b mcdaniel riley mcgovern kendra christine mchenry kyler reese mcintosh alexa grace mckinley ava margaret mckinney ella hobson meek jolene sudell meek jenny velasco mendez faith elizabeth meyer caleb eric middendorf bailey nicole miley austin james miller katie ellen miller jacob tyler miller nolan matthew miller seamus matthew milligan ashley milne marquis pierre mixon tyler marks moses juarez jason edward montgomery laney augusta moore aydith morales donald logan morris margaret jane howard soy swan natalie monica marcus allen murray ricardo navarro joseph earl
033neal yestica niskal kurt nuster luis diego ocampo hernandez gui gomez onegirl carmen milagro ojeda melendez angel eduardo olgan trujillo joseph herme mondelia orio raphael ortega stephanie ortiz somna aisha pollywall elish nicole pardue patrick ava e patterson [Music] matthew pearson genesis penaloza melendez gretel penaloza melendez andrea perez denise perez salazar drew jalen alyssa perry sandra chalice perry gabriel petrucelli deluca peyton lane philia amaya liberty pearson owen tyler poindexter aviana nicole poliak israel porcio jimenez brianna mia portelupi caleb james potter daniel william precht logan alexander preston zoe grace preston miley and prince colin smith pruitt austin john polkowski santiago quintero aguirre ariana ramirez luis a ramirez aaron elizabeth rollins catherine marie rayburn catherine grace redding paige elizabeth reinbold neela marie riddle adeline grace risley chloe golda jane roberts mia milin rogers brian rodriguez mary jane rojas madison
034and lorenz michael rosas hunter santiago eduardo rueda adeline sabra rush michelle sanchez david carl sandusky hunter stone savage madeleine m schoonover adam john schwartz shaylyn danay scruggs elijah m sebastian hayley rochelle shelton paige christine sherlock caleb andrew schinkel jacob daniel shingle aiden carl smith kylie renee smith lamonica o'shea smith jagger lake spangler kelsey michelle spray eliza marie steele blake almond stevens tyler j stevens andrew patrick store megan gray store abigail elizabeth stumpf ashley d sturgeon xander s swan now mark takeda braden sean taylor brooklyn alexis thomas trinity and thompson abigail p titus lydia pope toliver enrique p tom delia maria torres elizabeth travis lucy jean travis john delmar trigoning jacob tristina douglas edward gauja turner staley davidson turner naomi carmen van der kroot aiden rosalyn voss megan renee wagner madison walsh emma grace waltz carter
035robert ward patricia marie warner matthew christopher watson ross michael wensler emma brianne wetzerack caleb virgil wheeler madison lee white lauren and whitley anna maria wilcoxon charles michael winick alexander david wisman alexander m walter isaac jeremiah woodruff sorry no that was my walter alexander m walter isaac jeremiah woodruff oluwa toby loba elizabeth wright [Music] trevor keith wright trinity gabriella may wright hector david chica adler wells jens ray ewan morgan courtney ziegler [Music] bennett thomas carson luke james anna king lauren k hartwell emily nicole herndon arturo lopez collier maxwell scott wilson trisha reddy yaragudi [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] well would you all please rise i'll please rise in honor of the class of 2021 [Music] so [Music] you