With my high school experience coming to a close, I’ve found myself spending more time thinking back on the past four years at LM. And boy, what an intense, insane four years it has been.
For those of you in the graduating class of 2022, imagine if you could tell your freshman self that in less than a year the whole world would shut down. All of your peers would be concealed by a mask and school would no longer be conducted in classrooms, but in online meetings. I know my past self wouldn’t believe it. Yet, over the past two years, this unthinkable reality has unraveled before our eyes. The class of 2022 will be the graduating class with the most days affected by the restrictions put in place by the pandemic.
However, in reflection, I realized that these four years weren’t defined by the myriad of unprecedented difficulties thrown at us. Instead, they were defined by the overwhelming willpower of LM students, teachers, staff members, and administrators alike. Through one of the most trying times in our school’s history, this community persevered and thrived.
As the last cohort of students to experience a “normal” year of high school, the class of 2022 held the responsibility of leading the student body and serving as role models like no other class before. And to that end, I would say we did a stellar job. It was the students in our cohort who led the winter track team to nationals, won states for the tennis team, brought the swim teams to states, drove Technology Student Association to the national conference, trained the debate state competitors, organized the LipDub, and so much more. Because of the outstanding performance of the basketball team and its senior leadership, hundreds of students from all grades lined the bleachers to cheer and celebrate one of the greatest displays of school spirit in recent memory. Through our words and actions, we ensured that Mr. Hughes’ motto “Character Counts” was not only upheld, but reinforced into the very fabric of our school.
