2022_Senior_Special_Issue

10 YELLOW SPR I NGS H I GH SCHOOL C L A S S O F 2 0 2 2 A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE YE L LOW SPR I NGS NEWS | MAY 26 , 2022 Yellow Springs Board of Education Yellow Springs Chiropractic The Yellow Springs Community Foundation KATARYN ORTIZ- THORNTON TAHLIA POTTER PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Frank Goetzke and Rebecca Potter Next year I will be attending Syracuse University, majoring in Citizenship and Civic Engagement (CCE), and Gender and Sexuality Studies! I am happy to be graduating, but I will miss this little town. I can’t sum up my experience at Yellow Springs in a few words because YS has been a huge part of my life up to now. However, there are a few things that have made growing up here really special to me. Yellow Springs has taught me to love our earth. As a little girl, I spent all day playing outside, scavenging leaves, building forts, and venturing into the Glen or walking on the bike path. Barefoot of course. Thanks to our safe community and wild nature I could be adventurous and independent. Yellow Springs has also taught me to trust and accept people. For the last four years at YSHS, I have had many frustrating experiences with the school. I have felt underchallenged and unheard. However, YSHS has some amazing, maybe unconventional, teachers and mentors. Through Ms. Corrigan and Student Government I discovered my love for community engagement. My English teacher, Ms. Lutz, is one of the most accepting and genuine people I know. She has never once tried to put out the sparkle in her students. Mr. Comstock always has a warm smile on his face, even with a mask on. Lastly, I am so grateful for my family and friends. They have made these last four years fun and meaningful. It is they who I will miss the most when I go to college. LILY RAINEY PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Amy Boblitt, Brian Rainey One of my favorite memories of YS, I believe, took place when I was in third grade. My friends and I were lucky enough to participate in a flash mob that was in the center of town. We weren’t well-practiced, and I was messing up the steps. However, no one seemed to notice. There was live music on the sidewalks. People were danc- ing with their shoes off and laughing. Everything in town stopped for just this moment, and we all felt so free. This is the first time I really experienced the magic in this town. One of the biggest lessons I will take away from this beautiful place is the freedom of being unapologetically yourself. In order to belong, we do not need to be like everyone else, instead, we must find the people who accept us entirely. We do not need to always know the steps in order to dance along. If we always follow the steps laid out for us, then how will we ever dance the way we really want to? I’ve spent my entire life in this small hippie town, and I’m currently itch- ing to leave and experience the rest of the world outside of this charming safety bubble. However, I am beyond grateful for all the opportunities and experiences that YS has offered me. This school has allowed me to make real impacts on my community and the world. I am so lucky to watch my peers grow into the incredible people they are today. My class is filled with some of the most outstanding and driven, art- ists, athletes, performers, and scholars, who will all find success in this world. My plans for after graduation are far from traditional. I do not believe Ameri- ca’s education system sets young adults up for success, by throwing us into debt so early in our lives. I am a dreamer and an entrepreneur, this town has turned me into one. I am currently working on a coffee trailer that will take me across the country until I find where I belong. In the mean- time, I will pursue my personal figure skating/hockey coaching business in Columbus, Springfield, and Troy, which I have been running on my own since junior year. Thank you to all my teachers and friends who accept and support me. This town will forever have a special place in my heart. RAIN RAYMER PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Delia and Michael Raymer Some of my most special memories are of walking in the Glen. To me, Glen Helen is the heart of Yellow Springs. I have spent countless days wandering the trails lost in thought. Growing up alongside the Glen, I have watched it change. The boardwalks were installed and the beavers built their dam, but one thing that remained untouched was my sense of wonder. I credit Mr. Lowry and Ms. Lutz for keeping this wonder alive by encouraging questions and making O U R S P O N S O R S science and English engaging classes. I am also grateful for Mrs. Corrigan and Mr. Smith for pushing me to do my best. I couldn’t have been surrounded by a better group of friends and peers. I value the moments and jokes we shared. Most of all, thank you to my loving parents, I never could’ve got this far without your support. Next year I am going to Wright State University to study environmental sci- ence and chemistry for a semester until I decide which one I want to major in. It’s been a wild ride, but for the first time in years I can say that I can’t wait to see what the future holds. AVERY REEDER VERA ROBERTS PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Jonathan Roberts, Maytee Valladares I moved to Yellow Springs when I was in eighth grade. Before that, I lived in Utah and then I spent a transitional year in Beavercreek. When I moved here, I was unhappy and had issues with myself. When I moved here, I was surprised by how open people were about their own feelings and issues. I hadn’t experienced that in the previ- ous places I lived, so I always felt like I was the only one with issues, while everyone else around me was happy. I learned how to be open about my own life, and I have had several deep conversations with people here that I don’t think I would have had if I never moved here. I hope to continue finding people I connect with during my adult life. Speaking of my adult life, I intend to go to a four-year university (I haven’t decided which one yet) after I graduate. I want to major in Actuarial Science, which involves statistics and calculat- ing risks. Most people hate math, but I have always been mathematically inclined. Math-heavy fields are in high demand and make a lot of money. I have expensive taste and impulsive