At the start of the school year, I wrote an article about a picture that was taken from the first football game of the season.

The picture was of a group of seniors that held a sign that read “Watch Us Soar”

Most seniors probably did not read my article, and at the time I did not even know if I believed in my message myself.

I wrote the article without thinking much about it.

As the school year went by, I noticed all the things that happened and questioned if we were living up to the idea of soaring.

Even though I had my doubts, and many others had their doubts about our class, I do believe we did end up soaring.

Maybe not in the traditional way that others think of success but in our own way of doing things.

This sentiment also aligns with who we are as a class.

We are the class that rises to the occasion and beats the odds.

Even though we are tired of hearing about it, our class has been through a lot.

From missing the end of our eighth grade year due to Covid, to coming to school part time as freshman, to barely even meeting each other until sophomore year, we have persevered.

A testament to our achievements came during Senior Awards during Hannah Greisen’s speech.

Greisen had mentioned that our class had broken the most school records and won the most championships of any class.

We soared and we conquered just as we knew we were going to.

Now as the school year closes out, and so does our time here at NDA, I keep reflecting on the past four years here and I must say these four years have been some of the best years ever.

Although many people might have their problems and complaints about this school, no school is above complaints and sometimes people are not even looking to be pleased by their situations.

I can not speak for these people, but speaking for myself, I must say that I owe a lot to NDA.

I would not be the person I am without NDA, and I thank the teachers at this fine school for all the things that they have done for me and for everyone in the class of 2024.
Now as we say goodbye to this school, I challenge everyone else to soar with us.

Get out of your comfort zone like some of us did and make a legacy that you want to look back on and smile.

Watch us continue to grow, soar and meet new challenges head on and overcome them like we have the last four years.

Goodbye, Notre Dame Academy, and thank you for everything.