Senior Rachael Triplett on graduation

For graduating senior Rachael Triplett, much of her career at Niwot High School has been marked by her involvement in clubs and participation in the International Baccalaureate Program (IB).

During her time there, she was a four-year participant in the Knitting Club, played in the orchestra and ran both track and cross country. "Join everything you can, it's the best way to meet people," said Triplett. "Or, at least it was for me."

It was her willingness to try new activities and classes that led her to her interest in computer science, which she plans on studying at Colorado College. She explained that she took an introduction to programming class during her sophomore year of high school, and thanks to teacher Teresa Ewing, Triplett found a passion in the subject.

"I had never done anything related to computers before [that class] and really loved it."

Triplett excitedly discussed various aspects of her high school experience. One memorable moment occurred while she was performing her extended essay, which was a biological study concerning bees in gardens. With a laugh, she explained that she overestimated her work and had to adjust the entire plan, "but it ended up being really cool."

Another IB-related memory had to do with her CAS project--CAS stands for "community, action, [and] service," and all IB students must complete one to graduate. Triplett was able to connect with a number of people in the community to make sleeping mats for the homeless. Her mats were made out of plastic shopping bags, which she said was exciting, because not only was she helping with sustainability, but she was able to make lightweight, fairly durable mats for people who need them most.

Her favorite memory from high school happened when Niwot participated in the Mwebaza Project. The school as a whole and each of the individual groups raised money to aid the project, which helps to build schools in Uganda.

"It was really cool to see everybody come together and help in their own way for others to get an education too."

Community is important to Triplett. She said that she found a lot of support within her IB community and the Niwot community at large. She said she feels almost as though the 2020 senior class has become closer in spite of the social distancing forced by the pandemic.

"We haven't been together for a long time, but a lot of people are reaching out to each other. So, in a lot of ways, I feel separate from my class, but in others, it's like we've been brought closer."

Even though graduation for Triplett has been somewhat surreal--what with knowing that she's done with high school, but without the closure from typical graduation festivities--it still feels like an accomplishment. She expressed gratitude for the work that Niwot High and the school district have done to make the seniors feel celebrated.

"They did have seniors come by to get yard signs and shirts, which was a nice physical reminder. They did car parades too... A lot of teachers reached out, which is nice to see that the teachers care about their students so much."