Spirit of the Class 2025

I am incredibly grateful to DSHA and my classmates for the privilege of being your class speaker! I would like to start by thanking all of the people who got us here today. Thank you to our teachers, counselors, and mentors who challenged us, encouraged us, and never stopped believing in who we could become. To our families, thank you for your endless support, patience, and love even when we weren't always the best at showing how much we needed it.

I would love to give a special thanks, especially to my family: my parents who have been my very first teachers, my constant source of strength, and truly the reason I'm here today; my sister who taught me how to roll my skirt and for waking me up each morning before school by forcing me to sing "Man or Muppet" with me almost every single day; and my grandma who always reminded me that YOLO — you only live once. And to my amazing classmates, thank you for showing up for each other and for yourselves. Being a part of this class has meant being surrounded by people who care, who try, who make each other laugh, and who know how to lift someone up when it really matters.

I want to take you back to one of my very first memories of our class: It was July 26, 2021, the final day of Camp Dasher. We had just wrapped up the group dance competition where — and not to brag — my team took first place with a deeply moving performance of " We're All In This Together" from High School Musical. As we said our goodbyes knowing we'd see each other again in just one short month, we did what any group of freshmen would do — we swapped Snapchat usernames and created the most iconic group chat known to man: DSHA '25.

 

This group chat, which is still pinned on my phone to this day, somehow became a core part of our class identity. A nuisance to some, a constant source of chaos and entertainment to others, it's seen its fair share of drama, jokes, and people leaving and rejoining depending on their tolerance for the occasional notification avalanche. In the early days, it was full of homecoming dress photos, dress-up day planning, never-ending selfies, and many questions asking, "Could someone send me pictures of the math book pages?" Its peak was probably our Dash-A-Thon victory freshman year when we flooded the chat with donation links and pulled off an upset win against the sophomores through pure persistence and some healthy peer pressure.

It's been quieter since then, but throughout the years, has consistently fallen victim to many people's mass snaps. This year, it picked back up with photos from senior sunrise, plans for our senior pranks, and pictures from those final goodbyes before the last bell. Looking back, DSHA '25 captured so much of what made our class what it is: sometimes chaotic, always helpful, lately sentimental, and very funny. That same energy followed us through all four years, in ways way bigger than a group chat.

Throughout these four years, we've gotten to know DSHA in the same way it has gotten to know us. We've truly been through it all, like trudging up four flights of stairs at the end of the day freshman year because you forgot your theology book in your locker, or needing a few weeks at the start of the year to figure out where each staircase led to and where on earth [Science Faculty John] Melis's room was. We've had our fair share of embarrassing moments too, like falling down the commons stairs or answering to a "hey!" in the halls that wasn't meant for us (but to be fair, that's what happens when there are three other Graces in our grade). We could get almost any teacher off-topic, whether it was Mary Kouvoukliotis's, DSHA '25, innocent questions or Gracie Olejniczak's, DSHA '25, singing that sparked a dance party in [World Language Faculty Coleen] Ayudan's class. We came together in the best ways, whether it was eagerly awaiting the next grilled cheese and tomato soup day, joining in on Nina Keuhen's, DSHA '25, unforgettable cheer "Hey Penny," dancing our hearts out at homecoming, prom, and the new mother-daughter dances, quoting Katie Mark's, DSHA '25, "Sorry girl," more times than we can count, and slipping and sliding across a soapy piece of tarp on the back lawn during lunch on our last day.

Even when we were tired, dragging ourselves into school early, wishing [English Department Chair Andy] Lelinski would take a break from the "opportunities for excellence," or praying for a shorter Gizmo assignment in science, we still showed up for each other. We cheered each other on during sporting events, assemblies, concerts, musical performances, and classroom presentations. We celebrated each other, whether it was admiring each other's talents like marveling at Karina Contreras, DSHA '25, and Zaharra Campbell, DSHA '25, as they performed poetry at assemblies and talent shows, celebrating victories as a class, like our storming of the court after winning the senior v. staff basketball game by a landslide, or soaking in the everyday moments like Anabelle Largent's, DSHA '25, lunchroom announcements on the mic that always elicited cheering and applause. One of the most voted-on words used to describe our class was inclusive, and I truly couldn't think of a better way to describe us. We created a space where people felt seen, welcomed, and encouraged to be themselves. I don t think I ever walked through the halls without seeing a million smiles, hearing many hi's flying through the air, or someone asking, "Which class are you going to? Let's walk together." It all became part of who we are. DSHA, in all its chaos and charm, shaped us, and we shaped it right back.

When we started at DSHA, we wandered the halls in our baby plaid skirts, just trying to find our next class. We were figuring out how to exist in a new space, and over time, we did. We found our people. We joined clubs, raised our hands in class, discovered new passions, made mistakes, and learned from them. Slowly but surely, we built confidence in who we were and who we were becoming.

Now, here we are, sitting together for the last time, holding on to what's left of this moment. But it's not just time that's slipping away, it's also the version of ourselves who walked through those doors for the first time. That scared kid who didn't speak up, who didn't know where she belonged, starts to fade. And yet, she's still with us, a reminder of how far we've come. Somewhere along the way, we traded fear for confidence, comfort for curiosity. And even though it didn't always feel like it at the moment, every awkward conversation, late-night assignment, and unexpected laugh with someone new helped shape us.

As we become freshmen again in colleges across the country, I hope we keep that same willingness to show up, even when we're scared. I hope we keep speaking up, even when we're unsure. Because we've done it before, we've walked into unfamiliar rooms and made them our own. To quote the E.V.E. Club legend, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made." So step into those spaces. Be bold. Be kind. Be confident. Speak with the intelligence and empathy I know you all have. And never be afraid to make your voice heard.

There's one quote I used as my eighth grade quote, then again, when choosing my senior quote, and honestly, I couldn't think of anything better to sum up our class and who we are and who we will continue to be moving forward. As Amanda Gorman said, "For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be it." These words feel especially fitting as we gather here today. We've seen the light in each other throughout these four years, in the quiet moments, the loud moments, and the moments when we lifted each other up. And as we move forward, I know we'll keep carrying that light, showing up bravely, and being it for the world around us.