Who We Are
Voices of DSHA
Class of 2024 Co-Valedictorian Speech
Kate Krueger, DSHA '24, is co-valedictorian this year along with Abigail Quesnell, DSHA '24. In the fall, Kate will be attending Notre Dame University and plans to study finance. You can watch her remarks to the class of 2024 here.
I’m honored to speak on behalf of the class of 2024 as co-valedictorian. Let me take everyone back to a time that may be shoved in the corner of your brain or erased from your memory: hybrid learning. While many of us relished the days we could sleep in or enjoy a three-hour lunch break, it came at the cost of connections with one another and awkward Teams breakout rooms. We had the most unprecedented start to high school, and yet we somehow rose above and found ourselves making the most of our time in high school, together.
Together we wore masks for a year and a half. Together, we found friendships a year later after not knowing anyone in the other cohort. (I'm so happy I finally got to meet my classmates with the last names L-Z.) Together, we won championship after championship, year after year. We as one resilient, confident, and determined class did everything together despite all the unusual circumstances that tried to keep us apart. In the words of our outstanding Athletic Director Mrs. Seegers-Braun, “great teams have great teammates.” This is the motto that has led our athletic teams to countless state and even national titles, but her words apply to so much more than athletics.
Everyone here has someone who has helped them get to where they are today. Our parents have supported us and granted us the opportunity to be a part of this special DSHA community. Our grandparents have attended the Grandparent Liturgy every year. Our siblings and friends have cheered us on at all of our extracurricular endeavors. Most importantly, we have extremely hardworking teachers and administrators who make this amazing education possible. We have all learned something extremely valuable from each person in the DSHA community whether that is how to give every assignment “the old college try” thanks to [World Languages Faculty] Mr. Head, how to excel in your field like [Science Department Chair] Mrs. Strandberg, how to treat every person with the respect that [Science Faculty] Mrs. Hahn does, or how you can make someone’s day with the simple but extremely impactful act of saying hello like [Executive Administrative Assistant] Mrs. Hathaway and [Main Office Administrative Assistant] Mrs. Richburg do every morning. All of these people support us academically and spiritually. They allow us to collaborate and encourage us to be together. Every day that we spend at DSHA, they show God’s love for us through their small acts of kindness.
As I tried to recall one experience that truly represents the unity of the senior class, there are a few top contenders. Maybe it was our senior retreat, writing palanka notes to one another and not being afraid to open up in small group reflections. Maybe it's performing the senior dance at the talent show or our dedication to service and our joys and experiences on Vocare. It might even be the palpable happiness on Decision Day and how we are genuinely so excited for everyone’s futures.
Back
Together we wore masks for a year and a half. Together, we found friendships a year later after not knowing anyone in the other cohort. (I'm so happy I finally got to meet my classmates with the last names L-Z.) Together, we won championship after championship, year after year. We as one resilient, confident, and determined class did everything together despite all the unusual circumstances that tried to keep us apart. In the words of our outstanding Athletic Director Mrs. Seegers-Braun, “great teams have great teammates.” This is the motto that has led our athletic teams to countless state and even national titles, but her words apply to so much more than athletics.
In the arts, our shows win awards every year for their production and many of our talented performers and artists are recognized for their skills. Within our clubs, we collaborate to fundraise for organizations near and dear to our hearts and stand up for what we believe in. We as a class logged 21,126 hours and 15 minutes of service over our four years at DSHA.
We persevered and accomplished many amazing things because of our unity, and because we are “good teammates” and better friends to one another. You could always count on someone to send their notes if you missed class. You could make eye contact with someone in the middle of an impossible test and suppress a smile because they were just as lost as you were. Our freshman-year selves may have dreaded getting put into breakout rooms on Teams where literally no one said a word. However, once the days of blank screens, possibly absent partners, and the brave soul who would try to get the group talking were over, we would value being fully present during our in-person group projects. When the days dragged on forever and you had to take another one of [English Department Chair] Mr. Lelinski’s opportunities for excellence, you could always rely on a friend to brighten your day with a laugh during lunch.
We were there for each other through the ups and downs, and our support for one another has allowed us to succeed in everything from academics to athletics and service to our community. As some of you may know, the DSHA Golf team won the state championship for the first time in school history this season and while it has been one of my favorite memories from high school, I’m bragging about it because our story truly represents the importance of our faith in our success and in our unity, something that we can all relate to. Leading up to the state tournament, we embraced the Bible verse “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). No one thought we were going to win going up against the two-time defending champions, but with God on our side, we made an unreal comeback to take the title by two strokes after being down four strokes with three holes left. Our victory felt impossible, just like at the beginning of high school, forming friendships seemed impossible. It was hard to be together when we were sitting isolated six feet apart on the gym floor for Mass, but God granted us the strength to overcome the challenges and connect with others.
We persevered and accomplished many amazing things because of our unity, and because we are “good teammates” and better friends to one another. You could always count on someone to send their notes if you missed class. You could make eye contact with someone in the middle of an impossible test and suppress a smile because they were just as lost as you were. Our freshman-year selves may have dreaded getting put into breakout rooms on Teams where literally no one said a word. However, once the days of blank screens, possibly absent partners, and the brave soul who would try to get the group talking were over, we would value being fully present during our in-person group projects. When the days dragged on forever and you had to take another one of [English Department Chair] Mr. Lelinski’s opportunities for excellence, you could always rely on a friend to brighten your day with a laugh during lunch.
We were there for each other through the ups and downs, and our support for one another has allowed us to succeed in everything from academics to athletics and service to our community. As some of you may know, the DSHA Golf team won the state championship for the first time in school history this season and while it has been one of my favorite memories from high school, I’m bragging about it because our story truly represents the importance of our faith in our success and in our unity, something that we can all relate to. Leading up to the state tournament, we embraced the Bible verse “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). No one thought we were going to win going up against the two-time defending champions, but with God on our side, we made an unreal comeback to take the title by two strokes after being down four strokes with three holes left. Our victory felt impossible, just like at the beginning of high school, forming friendships seemed impossible. It was hard to be together when we were sitting isolated six feet apart on the gym floor for Mass, but God granted us the strength to overcome the challenges and connect with others.
We have worked together to raise money for the Lent project every year, to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches twice a month, to cheer on our friends as they donated their hair, and spent hours in CMC chatting with [Director of Salvatorian Service] Dr. Pickart or the chapel for Faith Friday. Thanks to Campus Ministry, we have had the chance to make meaningful connections with others in the context of our faith.
Everyone here has someone who has helped them get to where they are today. Our parents have supported us and granted us the opportunity to be a part of this special DSHA community. Our grandparents have attended the Grandparent Liturgy every year. Our siblings and friends have cheered us on at all of our extracurricular endeavors. Most importantly, we have extremely hardworking teachers and administrators who make this amazing education possible. We have all learned something extremely valuable from each person in the DSHA community whether that is how to give every assignment “the old college try” thanks to [World Languages Faculty] Mr. Head, how to excel in your field like [Science Department Chair] Mrs. Strandberg, how to treat every person with the respect that [Science Faculty] Mrs. Hahn does, or how you can make someone’s day with the simple but extremely impactful act of saying hello like [Executive Administrative Assistant] Mrs. Hathaway and [Main Office Administrative Assistant] Mrs. Richburg do every morning. All of these people support us academically and spiritually. They allow us to collaborate and encourage us to be together. Every day that we spend at DSHA, they show God’s love for us through their small acts of kindness.
As I tried to recall one experience that truly represents the unity of the senior class, there are a few top contenders. Maybe it was our senior retreat, writing palanka notes to one another and not being afraid to open up in small group reflections. Maybe it's performing the senior dance at the talent show or our dedication to service and our joys and experiences on Vocare. It might even be the palpable happiness on Decision Day and how we are genuinely so excited for everyone’s futures.
For me, though, I think it was one week ago on our last day of school. After an unexpected high school experience, the mixed emotions at the last bell of high school sums up our unity as a class. We finally made it to graduation day, actually together as one class — something my freshman-year self would be amazed by, but we also are bittersweet about leaving behind the friendships we have formed with one another. Although we will never go to school together again, we will always have the memories formed here together.
As we sang “We Are One Body” for the last time, at Baccalaureate Mass last night, I hope we will always remember that we are united in both our faith and love for one another. We’ve grown from anxious freshmen in masks to leaders—confident women poised to succeed and committed to helping other women coming behind us to do the same (shout-out to my little sister, Julia, DSHA '28).
Together we are a powerful force for good. We are called to serve and we are called to support one another. We are fierce competitors, talented artists, and accomplished students, but as we head into our futures, we need to be fierce advocates because together we are powerful and together we can go out and make the world a better place. Class of 2024, it has been a joy to spend the past four years with you, I can’t wait to cheer you on as you go on to accomplish amazing things!
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Kate Krueger, DSHA '24, addresses classmates during commencement.
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