FHS ceremony begins at the 1:19:20 mark.
A Final Sendoff for FHS Falcons, Class of 2020
Saturday, June 27, 2020
District 49 closed out the 2019-2020 academic year with a graduation ceremony to honor the Falcon High School Class of 2020 with family and friends on a beautiful sunny morning at UCHealth Park in Colorado Springs.
With social distancing as the norm, the FHS senior class came together one last time to acknowledge their successes and rekindle their friendships before departing for their next chapter in life.
Only a few weeks ago, graduation ceremonies were in doubt across the state. But the District 49 community decided to wait for the chance to celebrate with families.
“I find it incredibly fitting, that in this, our longest year in the history of District 49, we are finishing with the original high school with a real graduation,” said Peter Hilts, District 49 Chief Education Officer. “We’re here because you did the next right thing.”
Dr. Darryl Bonds, FHS Principal, said, “Being able to see the one and final tradition that culminates their students four years of high school and being able to celebrate it with family and friends, even though later than normal and not in the same venue and manner as normal, means the world to each family of each student attending. Not being able to have the memories and the pictures for this day would have been another part of the many things that the pandemic took from these families.
“I think it is exciting that we get to have a graduation,” said Jazzmyne Craven. “I thought we’d be on Zoom to graduate. It means a lot to have family here because they’re the ones who supported us through this four-year journey to graduate from high school.”
Monte Craven, Jazzmyne’s father, said, “It’s nice to be here. It’s been a long wait.”
“We were excited they moved it up from two people to six people so more of the family could come, said John Corby, father to FHS Senior, Jada. “Family is everything. Jada was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to do this. Now that she can actually walk (for graduation) it means everything to her.
Senior Shonciré Graham said, “It’s a blessing to be here. Seeing our prom, senior breakfast and other events go away, I’m very thankful the district was able to put something together for us to celebrate with each other and our families. It’s special to have my family here because I thought we weren’t going to be able to have that. So, I’m very happy that they are here to support me.”
“I’m grateful that we are going to have graduation here today. It’s a major milestone that no one should miss,” said Eric Graham, father of Shonciré. “I’m glad that District 49 saw fit to have it, even with the social distancing. It shows that they care about the students and the families.”
“It’s a good send off for her, and great closure for us as she is our oldest child,” Graham added. “It’s a day that we’ve been looking forward to for 18 years. It’s 13 years of academic work with all her success culminating into one event before she goes off to college.”
FHS Senior Kameron Godley said, “It’s definitely nice to have this. I wasn’t expecting us to have a graduation, but it’s nice that we can have one. It kind of feels like class, great to see everyone.”
“Throughout 2020 we have endured serious turmoil,” Salutatorian Kayln Ohlrich told her class. “But out of this we have learned that kindness, empathy and equality should always prevail. High school may have taught us book smarts, but in the last four month we have learned the greatest life lesson. Life doesn’t go as planned. We have to roll with the punches no matter how unfair it seems.”
Valedictorian Creighton Werner addressed his classmates from the podium, “I think the best way to live life is to always keep looking forward to what’s next. Because right now, in each moment, you can make every day one of your best. And you’ll never know when your best days were, because you’ll never have to look back to find them. I urge you to never live in the past because your best days, your best moments, your best experiences will always be in front of you.”
Bonds said, “This class has demonstrated their true resilience and character throughout this entire ordeal. They have seen and experienced things in one short period of time that many of us haven’t experienced in our entire lives and they have shown their toughness, their ability to adapt to change, their leadership as advocates for justice and hope for a better day moving forward.”
See the complete photo album on the D49 Facebook Page here.
