Caps off to the Niwot High School 2024 Graduates

Saturday May 25 marked the official completion of high school for the Niwot High School class of 2024. Niwot's commencement was held at the high school on the football field where 338 graduates received their diplomas and recognition from faculty alongside friends, family, and peers.

Commencement opened with the singing of the National Anthem performed by graduates Jasper Allison, Merrick Blondeau, Jackson Carano, and Fred Zorgdrager. Everyone was then welcomed by Principal Eric Raushkolb as he delivered a special message to everyone in attendance about this class - a class that did not receive proper recognition or closure for their completion of 8th grade due to COVID-19.

Transitioning into high school is already nerve-wracking, but this class did so with a large number of students opting for open enrollment, where students often separated from their pre-established friends since elementary and middle school, where they communicated over Webex (SVVSD's online learning platform similar to Zoom or, if you're old-school, Skype), and in the middle of a pandemic. This class was unlike any other. Rauschkolb expressed a particular sense of pride with this class's completion.

Rauschkolb took the extra time to read through some senior yearbook quotes from this year, one of which (stated by Denzin Alviar) probably best summed up the COVID transition into high school by stating, "Dude, what just happened?"

Other keynote speakers included Dr. Elizabeth Towlen (International Baccalaureate IB Coordinator), as well as students Sydney Bennett (Student Body President), Chloe Mitchell (Student Body Vice-President), Reema Baishya (IB Valedictorian), and Mia Prok (Traditional Valedictorian).

Student speakers also acknowledged how significantly this class has impacted Niwot including how they helped organize and celebrate the first ever homecoming football game held at NHS during the 50th anniversary celebration of the school and witnessed their first ever Unified Theater performance.

Baishya, however, spoke to a different experience of high school. She felt she could not credit her recognition to her grades, nor did she expect to be named IB Valedictorian. During her junior year, her family experienced a great loss. Baishya found herself often feeling discouraged, procrastinating work, and unmotivated. Her takeaway from the loss of her dad was this: "Run, walk, crawl, or just hang on - just keep going."

Rauschkolb spoke to a similar sentiment earlier in his speech, saying, "Whatever comes next [after high school], college, trade, workforce,...what matters most is how you treat other people." All of the speakers emphasized that while there is great value in school, whether one realizes it at the time or later in life, what matters most is how you keep going and how you can work with others.