Class of 2019

and I thank them all for all the help they gave me. I also want to thank my aunt and uncle for pushing me to do my best. Jonathan Nash No response submitted. Hailey Qualls I’ve lived in Yellow Springs almost my whole life and I wouldn’t trade the experi- ence for the world. Being able to grow up in such a loving and tight-knit community and being able to call it home is an honor. I have attended Mills Lawn Elementary School, McKinney Middle School and Yellow Springs High School, and have made memories to last a lifetime. During my time in Yellow Springs I have been involved in plays, softball, vol- leyball and cheerleading. The friends I have made along the way hold a special place in my heart and are friends I will treasure. Being able to have such a close group of class - mates was a great experience, as they are like my second family. I have friends that I met on the first day of kinder - garten and friends that I met just this year, but all of them share the same love for Yellow Springs and the memories we have together. Going through the Yellow Springs school system is unique and something you truly don’t understand until you do it yourself. From trips walking to Corner Cone, school musicals, Halloween parades, field days, water balloon fights and class trips to soccer games, cheerleading, prom and home - coming, there have been so many things that I have been lucky enough to experience with my best friends by my side. I think one of my favorite memories would have to be every year cheering on the boys soccer team during the home - coming game. It was always the one weekend of the year where the whole school came together and showed the most school spirit. Another memory I will always keep is being able to bond with my classmates on our eighth-grade trip. During that time, I spent time with new people and made amazing new friendships. I will never forget the endless giggles in class, the times where we should have been in class but were roaming the halls instead or being able to go outside that first warm day of spring and just take the last few minutes of the day to talk with friends and just enjoy life. It’s amazing how fast the time has gone by and how much appreciation I have for the amazing teachers and staff that have helped me get to where I am today. Most people think going to a school where your graduating class is less than 70 people sounds crazy. But I will always remember being able to experience every - thing with truly my second family and closest friends. There’s something unique about the relationship of YS classmates; we’ve truly expe - rienced our whole childhood together. We’ve been there for each other through the good and bad, and have shared so many moments of growth together. In the fall I will be attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where I am following a pre-law track. As excited as I am about that, I wouldn’t be able to go to my dream school without all the valuable les- sons both in the books and in life from my teachers. I’d also like to thank my family as they have always supported me and pushed me to strive for the best. But specifically my mom, who has always been there for me and has held my motiva- tion and molded me into the person I am today. Yellow Springs is and will always be my home, no matter where I am in life. Thank you to my class, teach - ers, principals, guidance coun - selors, family, and community members for all you have done for me. I look forward to seeing where the future takes us all. Go Bulldogs! Dylan Rainey No response submitted. Meryam Raissouni No response submitted. Cierra Richeson Parents/guardians: Connie Richeson I’m glad I’ve spent 12 years of my life in Yellow Springs. It made me a liberal. Willow Richeson No response submitted. Alex Ronnebaum Parents/guardians: Brenda Ronnebaum, Alan Ronnebaum Senior year is our final year and it’s filled with stress and lots of memories. We will never forget how we struggled throughout the year due to the entire college application process or fighting to maintain our grades in top shape so that we can be considered by a university. But those aren’t the only things in senior year that we will carry on forever in our lives. We will never forget homecoming, prom, involve - ment in sports and just the fact that everything you are doing is probably never going to be done again. This is prob- ably the most emotional part of high school, with gradua - tion right around the corner, but senior year isn’t the most memorable year either. Our past years have also been a factor in who we are today and it’s great just to look back at how things have changed. A lot has happened within four years. Up until now, there’s only so much we can say about how our entire high school experience. Our whole high school career is fash - ioned around the idea of going to college and getting good grades, but along the way there is an unspoken truth that high school is truly all 6 Yellow Springs High School  CLASS OF 2019 A Special Section of the Yellow Springs News | May 23, 2019 Sam & Eddie’s Open Books TCN Behavioral Health Services Tom’s Market Town Drug Jaimie Wilke, Holistic Massage The Winds Café O u r S p o n s o r s  about making new experiences and doing the most to make it truly memorable — like being involved in school, joining a club or sport or just making many new friends. For me, high school has been the great - est years of my life and I hate to see it all come to an end. I remember being a freshman and having that perfectionist personality where I was work- ing hard, striving to be flawless and graduation was simply a blip on my horizon not yet to be taken seriously. It’s crazy how four years feel so much like four months. Time really does fly. The only regret I have is that I didn’t come to Yellow Springs earlier. Being at Yellow Springs from the start would’ve benefitted me a lot because of the open-minded, student-driven environment that is promoted so strongly here. I wasn’t blessed with these amazing opportunities at my old schools. Yellow Springs is truly a unique, wonderful place and I am so grateful for how the culture here has transformed me into the person I now am. Although I didn’t spend a lot of time in Yellow Springs, I’m thankful that I ended up here and met the wonderful people that I know and love today. Forrest Rowe Parents/guardians: Christina Rowe, Kirk Rowe I would just like to thank a few people who have helped me over the last 18 years: Bob Barcus, thank you for sharing your endless knowl- edge and wisdom with me. I’ve enjoyed our time together in the garden ... and most of your jokes. Thank you, Mrs. Morrison, for being the most understand- ing, tolerant teacher on the planet — you truly are the best. Thank you, Papa and Grandma, for helping raise me and always being there for me. I will miss you guys.