001cool [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] good evening class of 2021 school staff families and friends welcome to brown county high school and the graduation class of 2021 i'm megan bickley the master of ceremonies on behalf of all the graduates this year i say thank you to every person here because you have made an impact on these graduates i am very proud to be able to be able to be here today in this gymnasium as a class this time last year i was not sure this moment would be able to happen as a class school system and community we learned to find ways to learn through a global pandemic although coven 19 has definitely brought many hardships to every single one of us in several ways one thing i learned is the
002importance of relationships in my life i'm going to encourage you i'm going to encourage each of you here today to take a step back and focus on your life and how much these people mean to you you may not ever see the person next to you ever again but realize the experiences you have shared with them from the first day of kindergarten to starting junior high to us sitting here today hold on to the relationships you have made here hold on to your friends and family that have helped you get here today hold on to your experience here at brown county high school congratulations class of 2021. [Applause] we would like to recognize all of our honored guests our school board president carol bowden vice president vicki hardin secretary amy huffman oliver board member steve
003miller and board member stephanie kreitzer next is our superintendent dr hammack our director of student learning services debbie harmon our assistant principal charles hutchins and our principal matthew stark at this time i would like you to voluntarily rise and join us 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 thank you our first speaker from the class natalie suting in her title in her speech titled new experiences we are here today to not only celebrate a graduation but for all the first experiences we have had together if you think about it we are the first group to be together the longest for eight years in total in my
004opinion this is quite an accomplishment and has brought us here today we are the first fifth graders to enter the intermediate school and i remember how nervous i was to meet all these new people outside of my elementary school we witnessed a new gym being built new schedule changes new classes and new memories that we all made together through this small step of coming together and fifth grade we all learned from this experience and came closer together then we went all to the junior high a new school and new opportunities to find oneself we all witnessed individual first experiences such as getting a locker going to different classes trying out a new sport this could be where you had your first relationship first school dance and first time participating in a school event and while
005there were good and bad memories at the junior high together we survived middle school finally we reached high school and i clearly remember the first day of school i was fearful i could not find my classes and saw all these new people i had never talked to before we all experienced that first day our first day of our high school career this is a place where we went to our first homecoming first time doing an online class and first time having an ap class we had new teachers new friends new opportunities to learn and new ways to find what we are passionate about for our future we may have had our first car our first job or even our first time going to prom however interestingly enough we are we are one of the first
006to go and deal with coven 19. we've been the first class to go on online school first to do a hybrid schedule first class to wear masks in school and for some first time being quarantined i know this was hard we all dealt with the suffering and annoyance of this pandemic yet here we are today as again we survived and persevered to the pain of senior year in a pandemic we all experience first in our senior year especially primarily being one of the first to experience trimesters but with determining what we are going to do in our near future this could be the first time considering what we want to become first time applying to a college first time getting accepted into a school first time realizing wow i'm going into the real world soon
007and the most important thing of all we are here at our first high school graduation i'm honored to be here with all of you today and i would like to name the class of 2021 the guinea pig class it sounds weird but we have been the experimental class no matter what the brown county schools has thrown at us or what the universe has been trying to tell us we have faced these challenges and triumphs together this has prepared all of us for what is to come in our future as i know we can handle anything that comes in our way we are the change in this world and we are the future leaders i'm going to end this from a quote from my personal hero abraham lincoln the best way to predict the future is
008to create it using your ability to face any new challenges and experience we have all done together i push you to create an incredible future for yourself and others i would like to thank my family for always being there for me throughout my life i would like to thank the teachers the staff the administration for giving me the opportunity to be educated and lastly i would like to thank all of you for all the great memories and experiences we have done together and i cannot wait to see what all of you do in our near future thank you our next speaker is from the graduating class her name is elise slabal with her speech reflections of a 2021 graduate hi my name is elise label and this is reflections of a 2021 graduate thank you
009superintendent laura hammock and the brown county school corporation brown county school board and our high school principal matthew stark for working so hard to give our class a 2021 this graduating moment thank you to our guests families and friends who have joined the celebration whether in person or on live feed when we entered brown county high school as freshmen we either came with a blueprint to reach our goals or became uncertain of what we wanted to do there are probably a few who didn't want to come at all we quickly discovered that high school was not about learning complicated math equations or how to dissect a cow's eye it was about making friendships that for many of us will last a lifetime we're discovering that a class we chose to fill a schedule opened the
010door to an unexpected passion like for me theater we learned about working together as a team but also learning how to fly solo to reach our own personal goals high school was about preparing for competitions and performances whether in high school whether on football field or an auditorium we required absolute dedication and high tolerance for lack of regular sleep we learned the positive impact of respect service to others and good citizenship my papa often said good grades were certainly important but without good citizenship as well those grades were meaningless we also learned about disappointments in high school we worked hard but didn't make the team tried out for the play didn't get the lead ran for student council and lost study for a big test and failed hopefully we learned a big lesson it is
011not the disappointments that define us it is what we do with them most of us try to do our best but schools cannot pass you for trying to do your best only for scoring above a 62 percent unless you show initiative good attitude and willingness to work hard towards different solutions i am so thankful that throughout my school years and especially during my schooling at helmsburg elementary every single teacher i've had from kindergarten to 12th grade has worked with me to achieve my goals to stand here today as a proud graduate of class of 2021. whether you're teacher parent or guardian i'd like to offer this encouragement my great-grandfather shared with my nana when she entered high school he told her that a c grade was the best she could do he would never expect
012more from her but if he said that the c as anyone else's a plus would not be the same but he felt she wasn't doing and giving her best he would deal with her immediately pretty fair wisdom don't you think you took required courses to earn your diploma but receiving one is not dependent on something equally important for your future the content of your character did you strive to make good choices and decisions were you equally kind and helpful to fellow students and staff did you respect authority even when you felt you were right and they were wrong when different views were expressed did you listen even when you didn't embrace them if those grades were based on merits of character what would yours be some classmates will leave today with a well-deserved scholarship and
013awards headed for a mapped out future a few will leave with past undecided and the rest are thinking just get me out of here we look around and try to guess who among us will most likely succeed and who among us will most likely fail the thing is at some point each and every one of us will succeed at something in life as each and every one of us will fail at something and as well it is okay to be ordinary just be extraordinary at it let's face it high school was pretty much three groups the sports the smarts and the popular you may have been in one or all the groups or not any of them but we're all together now unite as one group the best graduating class of brown county high school
014the class of 2021. in 2017 no one would have predicted how the world would be when we all came together this last time for this evening to celebrate commencement from our first steps into high school to our less steps across the stage this was our dream this was our goal as our junior year ended and our senior year began the steps were often harder full of uncertainty and a little bit sadder but with strength and resolve we kept going we kept achieving and we are now moments away from moving that tassel whatever got you to this moment tonight your faith your personal ambition your family's support your teachers or your friends always be humble be thankful and be grateful for everything and everyone involved in the education you received regardless of what we pursue or
015what we achieve or where we go never forget that brown county high school will always be the foundation where we built our dreams we the brown county high school class of 2021 are probably more prepared to face challenges and obstacles over any other graduating class to my fellow classmates family friends and staff at brown county high school we are brown county and we are ready may god bless this journey ahead of us the family and friends around us and the dreams we have within us be kind be good and be careful thank you thank you please enjoy our look back with our slideshow for you right now uh class of 2021 mr stark had a family emergency uh earlier today he offers both his apologies for not being here and his congratulations on this friday
016before memorial day if we have any active or past members of the military with us would you please stand [Applause] would you now join me in a moment of silence as we remember those members of the military who make celebrations like this when possible thank you class of 2021 i have only one piece of advice for you as you come across the stage tonight and get that diploma i want you to think of it as a fuse and you the lighted match as you leave here tonight go to set the world on fire school board of trustees and dr hammack i present to you the class of 2021 graduating summa laude megan rose bickley elise eileen mckenna slaybaugh graduating summa laude natalie marie sitting leah noelani abel brianna marie ackerman [Music] jesse alexander addington graduating
017summa laude lauren k akels dylan nicholas allen graduating summa laude abigail renee angie brandt aiden ace arrington carlene renee bartley ava may bear whitney beatrice fern basham spencer thomas blee ellen ann bond graduating summa laude wyla branham brimmy lane brock thomas sterling brooks gage dylan thomas brown aiden michael bert camden joseph carlisle sean richard carney cameron isaiah cassida orion william clark noah shane cochran kendall cochran kailyn olivia combust jada nicole cooney graduating summa laude morgan elizabeth cowan david scott cridlin jr jade robin krauss clayton andrew daniels laurel pearl doherty samuel reed davis emma jeanette dawson emma grace debord graduating summa laude cheyenne ray dinsmore landon michael dugan emily ann earnshaw kaylee jasmine elkins graduating summa laude travis jacob bond ely wyatt scott ewan cheyenne marie figg anna victoria fleetwood isa noel sue fogg brittany gene
018fowler cameron kelly fox hunter lee funkhouser jonathan getz trisha in getz graduating summa laude lillian grace giles benjamin jason gold isabel delilah gonzalez owen goodwin matthew wayne gordon graduating summa laude kaya young gore maddox emil grade off unable to join us tonight because of her commitment to the united states army stacia nicole grimes emma grace hardin nicholas james harden dalton wyatt hedrick ryken joseph henderson kylie grace harold thomas edward herbert courtney brielle hill jamison eugene hudson jake allen huddleston logan ray huddleston jackson alexander hurley graduating summa laude cala lorraine emming greta isabel johnson daniel aidan johnstone amelia morgan cockavicos rhone seal keane jackson james lewis kelp nathaniel scott kilby savannah rose king angel may kirby garrett blake knotts graduating summa laude emilia may custer dawson robert lambert dylan arthur landfair jacob nathaniel lewis haley renee
019lindsey haley danielle lunsford graduating summa laude jason ray martin [Music] [Applause] john michael martin graduating summa laude francesca riana bonrostro mata shelby gene mayo gunner j.d mcgee matthew elijah minna olivia jolene miller robert aaron montgomery samara nash newman abigail elizabeth olden graduating summa laude john stuart oliver sarah grace osborne nolan riley patterson graceland marie patton cameron stephen payne isaac thomas peterson graduating summa laude dalton emmett platt nicholas daniel ponzo vincent isaac ponzo jackson riley pop graduating summa laude katyana ilona richardson kyle vernon roberson dalton dale roberts maya renee sawyers riley leanne seacat derrick ivan sears trent alan sisson caleb tommy sizemore molly ann speaks zachary grant spires leanna nicole spurlock graduating summa laude richard edward stanley iii taylor ray staton max stayton sabrina marie steerwalt hunter mason stringer joshua lewis taylor faith renee thomas unable
020to join us tonight because of his commitment to the united states marine corps ivan edward thomas lance clifton tom aidan michael vaught shelby celine vasquez [Music] lana marie bastille karina lynn voles jennifer navy award anthony james weiss allen wesley [Music] brady lee whitis john anton wetlessbach julia francis williams graduating summa laude morgan dale wilson graduating summa laude parker elliott hunsberger wilson kyle jordan wood jessica ann bell woodrum class of 2021 and guests it has been an absolute joy and honor to watch you experience the very special moments that have made up your collective years at brown county high school because you're the class of 2021 you are special because you didn't just experience the onset of the pandemic your class has endured the ongoing frustrations disappointments and generalized anxiety that has permeated the last 15
021months of your high school experience but you are also special because you didn't let this pandemic define you you have proven to be resilient through adversity joyful in disappointment courageous in fear and resolved when uncertainty was all around us and while i am sorry that these conditions were experienced during a time when you should have been experiencing nothing but joy i promise that the dispositions that you have developed during these most challenging of times will serve you very well throughout your next chapter and subsequent chapters of your life please know that the board of school trustees and i are so proud of how you have shined your light in this period of darkness and you have risen to this moment a graduation moment where darkness of the last 15 months falls away and nothing but
022love and hope await as you transition towards your future we wish each of you great success and sincere happiness in your days ahead i'd like to take a moment and seniors i'm going to need your help with this to thank your parents your grandparents and any other caregivers for the opportunity to work with your children over the duration of their experience in our school district if you're a parent grandparent caregiver would you please stand for a moment parents caregivers grandparents you bet seniors show them some love [Applause] parents and caregivers you have done an extraordinary job and your support has resulted in the incredible accomplishments that have been realized in every member of the class of 2021. i'd also like to take a moment to recognize all of our educators and staff who have contributed
023to at your education be it in a classroom lunchroom office school bus athletic field if you are a member if you are an educator or a staff member of brown county schools would you please stand so we can honor and offer our thanks to you thank you for your role in advancing these young people to this significant moment in their lives seniors you are ready you are ready for college you're ready for a career you're ready for a career in the military your next step is starting now and we all hold the most confidence that for all of you the best is yet to come seniors if you hear anything from me tonight just hear this our prayer for all of you is that wherever you go and whatever you do you will know that
024you are loved that you are called for a great purpose and that brown county will always be your home we are so proud of you and it is our sincere wish that you will always be proud to say that you graduated from brown county high school and with that it's time to make this official i'd like to bring up our program leaders today megan elise and natalie graduates it is time to make this official would you please stand [Music] [Applause] graduates as your superintendent of schools it is my honor to confer your graduation upon you at this time please turn your tassel it's time to [Applause] celebrate [Music] see we won't forget where we came from you