Grace Lohr

Throughout all of our time at Graland, we have looked forward to and experienced many milestone trips and activities, such as La Foret, Knighting, and Mesa Verde. We were all so excited to go on the nationwide trips Graland has to offer. When the pandemic hit, we all lost so much: time with friends, going to school, and our 7th Grade DC Trip. When we finally did get to go back to school, though we were lucky to be in school at all, it was hard to adjust to the masks, the plexiglass, and to eating outside every day. Even though we’ve missed out on some of the highlights and experiences of our Graland careers, this pandemic has taught us all so much about ourselves. Coming out on the other side of such a big complication will make us all stronger, kinder, and more resilient people. 

However, we’ve still been able to make many new memories this year. I will always remember our grade for all the plastic babies we placed around campus and the weird videos and movies we watched while eating lunch inside on rainy days. I really enjoyed watching the pool noodle battles during drama class and have always laughed at the amount of offhand comments my cohort has made when they don’t want to do their work. It’s also been nice to have donuts and a good advisory breakfast once in a while when I come in for the morning. I’m also glad we got to pull the shower in science class after waiting a year to do so. Not to mention the events some of us went to, including advisory lunch, the ice skating party, Top Golf, and Eliches. Despite the difficulties, this year has been one to remember, and from this, we can all learn to have fun even when it’s hard to do so.

It’s also important to note all the Service Learning we’ve done, from spending time with our UN Buddies to volunteering at the soup kitchen and connecting with the elders in our community. These experiences, among many others, have taught us another very important life skill, empathy. This can be hard to come by, especially in our modern day society. However, it’s good to know that all of us have had the opportunities to cultivate this important virtue within ourselves.

I’ve really enjoyed growing up with all of you and being together as we’ve become the people we are today. Graland’s education, hand-on experience, and the hardships we’ve all gone through together have and will continue to shape us into the best versions of ourselves.

And with that, I would like to thank the parents and families for supporting all of us through our journeys at school, the teachers for being the most helpful and intelligent people possible (and for teaching us), and my classmates for supporting me and everyone else through all the experiences we’ve gone through together. Congratulations!