Congratulations to the Class of 2021

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of providing opportunities to give our young people a voice and a platform, Our Broomfield™ is pleased to bring back a tradition. Each year, we look forward to inviting one senior from each of our three high schools to share a reflection on growing up in Broomfield and their high school career on behalf of their class. We thank this year’s seniors for their thought provoking columns, and the entire staff of Our Broomfield sends all 2021 graduates sincere congratulations and best wishes for the future.

With Proactive Fortitude, Brooomfield High Senior and Peers Reclaim Senior Year

By Mia Gallegos

Saturday, May 22, 2021. The date we all knew was coming but never thought would arrive. Graduation is something that my fellow thirdgraders and I would talk about like it was some sort of distant ideal that only happens in the movies. Those same kids that I daydreamed about senior year with are the same who will be walking up the stage stairs with me to receive our diplomas. It is for this reason that I believe Broomfield and Broomfield High School are special. The kids that we will graduate with are the same who we sat by in kindergarten while learning our ABCs and addition and subtraction. We’ve watched each other grow up, and now we will watch each other start the rest of our lives.

COVID-19 was the most unexpected event to occur in the course of our high school careers. Condolences for the class of 2020 turned into deeper pity for our own class of 2021. While last year’s seniors only had the tail end of their year ripped from them, we were forced to spend the bulk of ours doing school in our bedrooms. Friday night lights ceased to exist, fake homecomings were held in small gatherings, and the raging flame that once lit the school spirit we used to have became a mere spark. We had waited three long years to stand at the front of the Broomfield High School student section and lead the underclassmen through cheers, chants, and songs in support of our football team. Yet when football season arrived, we gathered around computers at home to watch the team play for a tiny crowd of parents.

However, despite all the challenges we walked blindly into, our hope never was extinguished. We started petitions, put together virtual meetings, and have been able to pull back several aspects of the senior year we worked towards yet never received. Prom is in the near future, spectators are allowed at more outdoor sporting events, and graduation is on the horizon.

Although this wasn’t the year we hoped for, my classmates and I have banded together and made it a memorable one nonetheless. I look forward to seeing the strength that we’ve gained throughout this year be put to use in our futures. This class is a resilient one, which will make for a remarkable group of doctors, writers, engineers, and leaders for years to come.

Myself, I look forward to continuing my education next year at at Gonzaga University to study Journalism.

Holy Family Provides Lifetime of Values and Support Punctuated by Invaluable In-person Senior Year

By Caitlin Johnnides

As a kid, I always looked forward to Broomfield Days. The joyful sounds of the parade, the vibrant whirlwind of colors, the smells of the food trucks - it was all so enticing and exciting. I was thrilled when I got to be a part of Nativity of Our Lord’s float in elementary school, donning my polo shirt and plaid pleated skirt. What was even more exciting was seeing the glimmer and shine of Holy Family’s purple-and-gold cheerleaders marching in the parade, their smiles and skirts both sparkling. I couldn’t wait to be a Tiger in a few years, and my four years at Holy Family have been just as dazzling as I expected.

Throughout my high school career, I have been pushed to not only be a better student, but a better person. Through the support and guidance of my fantastic teachers, I’ve learned important lessons both inside and outside the classroom. The curriculum at Holy Family has taught me the importance of hard work, dedication, resilience, and accountability, while also instilling in me the Catholic values of prudence, fortitude, faith, hope, and charity. I’ve been very blessed to have received such a wonderful education while simultaneously learning about and expressing my faith. I feel even more blessed to have had fully in-person classes and extracurriculars my senior year.

Senior year classes are extremely important, as nearly all of the AP classes I’m taking directly lay a foundation for what I’ll be studying in college. The fact that I’ve been able to have all of these critical classes in-person has truly been such a blessing, as I feel very prepared for college next fall at Vanderbilt University. I’ve always been grateful to have such supportive and involved teachers, but this past year has really shown me how fortunate I am. Many students from other schools haven’t had the chance to participate in their usual extracurriculars, much less in-person, so I’m very grateful that my teachers were willing to go the extra mile so that myself and others could still participate in our beloved hobbies.

As graduation approaches, all I can do is count my blessings. My senior year has been relatively intact: fully in-person classes, extracurriculars, basketball games, an upcoming outdoor prom, and an in-person graduation. This year has shown me that Holy Family truly cares about its students, and a sense of community has never been more prevalent.

Community, Resiliency Carry Legacy Senior Through Unimaginable Challenges

By Allyson Bunch

My peers and I would agree that we were not at our prime freshman year. We attempted to fit in, but our strategies were impaired. We followed a non-existent rule book on “how-to be a highschooler” written by conformity and sameness.

True belonging never asks us to change, and true community never requires fitting in, but instead builds a foundation on a joyful embodiment of originality.

I’ve had the honor, alongside my peers, of learning to embrace our inherent uniqueness, our passions, purposes, personalities, and values. Through our pursuit of individuality, our class established a community that we didn’t know how much we would eventually need ...

The unexpectedness of COVID-19 and the lengths to which it has a universal impact on daily life go without explanation. Many of the traditions that make Legacy, “Legacy” were lost: no student sections, party chants, pep assemblies, nor a conventional senior year.

High school seniors everywhere are struggling with the effects of COVID-19, and on top of these circumstances, Legacy’s seniors experienced the loss of two students in the span of one week. Rebecca Kreeger and Kelli Glueck both radiated an abundance of light in their smiles, laughs, and spirits. Legacy may be a large high school, but that week, it couldn’t have felt smaller.

Our school was tested time and time again. We needed that community we spent the last four years forming more than ever, and my class did not disappoint. If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that my peers are the strongest people I know.

My class’ response to unimaginable loss - grieving the loss of a traditional senior year and the loss of peers and friends - taught me two invaluable lessons:

1. Community is best established on the foundation of an eager pursuit of diversity

2. Resilience is a product of devout togetherness

In my time growing up here, Broomfield has repeatedly displayed resilience through togetherness as a response to difficult circumstances; we have always been able to rise above when unified.

I’d characterize my freshman year as awkward and uncomfortable; however, now, as Legacy’s Senior Class President, I couldn’t have more pride for the people I’ve grown up with. I believe that our class experienced tragic circumstances because we’re strong enough to handle them. Our foundation was tested, and it survived because of our tenacious unity. The lessons and values that I’ve learned throughout my childhood have prepared me for life after Legacy and beyond Broomfield where I will be attending Stanford University. I hope to carry on the legacy of Broomfield and, one day, return to enhance it.