To the St. Clair Class of 2024–My, what a year it has been for you seniors. Actually, the last four years of your journey through high school put some of you past your limits and beyond them, but take solace in that you have reached the finish line of this marathon called school. This was the first full year the Journal covered St. Clair, so this is a culmination of my thoughts as your friendly neighborhood reporterman.
It can be a bit awkward at first for a local newspaper to invade a school district that had essentially been swept under the rug for several years, but the year proved to be a fruitful symbiotic relationship between the Journal and St. Clair’s students, faculty, parents, and the community itself. Teachers or community members would reach out to us about a particular event or activity happening at the school helped keep us afloat during some of the slower weeks and while there were some events that we could not cover or gave enough attention to, the overall support and praise the Journal has received from this community is worth a giant thank you from all of us.
There are so many individuals to thank from the teachers to the coaches to everyone in between who helped us accomplish our assignments, but it would be foolish of me to not thank the resounding efforts of Principal Bosshart throughout this school year. Before I met him, people around the district told me that Bosshart was “intense” and our first meeting was during a tense moment during a football game…got to witness the intensity firsthand. However, over time, he proved to be a great leader of young men as his football team bounced back after a slow start to the season to a high seeding in the playoffs. As an educator, his 18 years at St. Clair fundamentally changed the culture and has made the district one that has been highly sought after in the past few years. Thank you for your hard work, Boss.
Of course, I was the main contributor when it came to documenting certain stories throughout the district, especially when it came to some impressive seniors and their accomplishments. I watched Jacob Schimek dominate in both football and wrestling on his way to record-breaking seasons. I witnessed Dylan Blount lead his team back with a last-second victory during a downpour–I’m still drying those socks. I can still hear the echo from Madison Welborn’s palm crashing into the volleyball during one of her signature kills. I briefly covered Steph Cink in basketball during her junior year and to watch her vast improvement as a shooter, especially behind the arc, in her senior year was a sight to see with her reaching the 1,000 point milestone as the highlight of her season. Despite a nagging injury, Eli Kruse made it to the State tournament for the last time. While they were cheering from the sidelines, Rory Brunow and Emilee Bade served as formidable leaders that have helped make the cheerleading program grow to incredible numbers. Sports weren’t the only facet where the Cyclones were determined to go above and beyond as Paige Daly and Landon Froehlich earned the AAA award for their commitment to all three parts of the high school experience. Gavin Eischens put himself into rare company as a two-time State Speech champion in Poetry with performances that tugged on the heartstrings. Evelyn Zeldenrust flexed her creative muscles with a beautiful landscape painting that earned her a trip to the State MSHSL Visual Arts competition. This class has achieved so much greatness in such a short amount of time that I may have missed some details, but this class of seniors should all be very proud of what they have accomplished here today.
What really defines a person, or in this case, a class is how do they handle times of struggle? How do we adapt to a situation that forces us to forgo our traditions for unfamiliar territory? 2020 and the pandemic introduced a lot of fear, anxiety, and other burgeoning thoughts about the unknown. Thankfully, St. Clair seemed more prepared than most as they had already embraced the technological aspect of learning with virtual classes and Zoom meetings; however, there was still much uncertainty that loomed over the students. It seems that despite the start of your high school career being a time of great discomfort and strife, you are living proof that it takes pressure to make diamonds out of coal. Sorry for the cliche.
I’ll get this Class of 2024 out of here on this. You ought to be very proud of yourself for reaching this milestone. Many of you will pursue a college degree to further your education, while others will pursue a different path to achieve a lifelong dream; I wish you all luck as there is fulfillment in any choice you make as long as you believe in it. As a writer filled with too many thoughts in my head, I will leave you today with this grain of wisdom as you embark on your next chapter: There is no straight line to achieving your dreams, so don’t be afraid of being wrong. My initial dream after high school was to become an English professor, only to learn that path wasn’t the one meant for me, and it took about ten years of trudging through the muck to find my actual calling. The world you are entering is a chaotic and unforgiving place, so to achieve what you want, you have to be forgiving to yourself. You will make mistakes, a lot of them, so many, I mean, you might just fall down the stairs shortly after accepting your diploma, but what matters is how you get back up and keep fighting that will determine the outcome.