Buffalo Grove High School Class of 2021
Graduates in the Class of 2021: 498
Graduation Speaker: Benjamin Wellisch
Class Officers: Senior Class President Amelia Stoesser; Senior Class Vice President Lindsay Semmelman; Senior Class Treasurer Claire Schneider; Senior Class Secretary Leah Limber; Student Council President Pranav Nair
• Student Council Vice President Dilnoza Sultonova; Student Council Recording Secretary Lindsey Foutch; Student Council Club Liaison Hannah Greenspan.
National Merit Finalist: Jillian Dombroski
National Merit Commended Scholars: Hannah Greenspan; Gillian Karsten; Sydney Paunan; Caroline Smith; Kyle Stefani; Eric Swanson; Lida Tetyusheva; and Benjamin Wellisch.
Extracurricular achievements:
• Sydney Paunan - ILMEA All State Orchestra
• Scholastic Bowl - MSL East Champions and IHSA Regional Champions
• DECA sends 41 qualifiers to state with State Champions; 4th place in state, Robert Roy and Kyle Stefani (sports & entertainment marketing team event); 2nd place Jimmie Strege (automotive services marketing); 2nd place Chris Stefani (accounting applications).
• Chicagoland Choral Showcase Solo Competition: Classical Solo Outstanding Female Soloist, Samantha Macauley; Broadway/Pop Solo Outstanding Female Soloist - Ruth Ramos
• IHSA Journalism State Qualifiers: Zoey Heinrich Sectional Champion in Copy Editing and Feature Writing; Ryan Gledhill and Mitchell Mueller Sectional Champions in Video News; Khushi Gandhi Sectional 3rd place in Photo Story Telling; Ella Palffy Sectional 3rd place in Yearbook Theme Development.
Athletic achievements:
• Girls Swimming and Diving: Stefanie Surdyka - MSL 2nd for 50 Freestyle, 2nd for 100 Freestyle; Jillian Dombroski - MSL 3rd for 100 Butterfly. New Pool/School Records: Stefanie Surdyka - New pool record holder in 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle; 400 Free Relay Gabriela Surdyka and Stefanie Surdyka, new pool and school record.
• Coed Cheerleading: MSL Champions, IHSA Sectional Champions and 4th in IHSA State; MSL All-conference Nicolet Argentine, Michael Grills, Samantha Novak.
• Girls Bowling: 2021 MSL Champions; Sara Clay - 2nd in MSL scoring average
• Boys Swimming: 2021 MSL East Champions; Alex Santiago - MSL East Swimmer of the Year
• Boys Soccer: 2020-21 MSL East Champions; MSL All- Conference: Alexis Escobar, Jakub Szydlowski and Brian Perez (Co-Player of the East)
• Girls Badminton: Jennelle Vossel - IHSA Sectional Champion
• Girls Volleyball: MSL All-Conference - Ella McBride and Shannon Coglianese
Theater productions:
• Fall Play: Love Sick by John Cariani
• Winter Play: Stuck Here Together
• Original Radio Play by BGHS Cast Musical: Little Women the Broadway Musical - Book by Allan Knee, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, Music by Jason Howland
What traditional events were adapted for the pandemic and how?
Orchestra Drive and Donate Event Showcasing our Pops Concert music Oct. 24th. Program showcased musicians outside while collecting carloads of food for the community; 500 student Madman Dodgeball tournament transformed to outdoor kickball tournament; Created Community Trunk or Treat Event which connected with hundreds of carloads of local community children at BGHS on 10/31; 130 students take part in November Walk-A-Thon sponsored by the junior class raising money for St. Judes; Traditional Homecoming moved to Spring. "Spiritcoming" showcased our traditional HC court with Seniors Alex Santiago and Lindsay Semmelman winning King and Queen Honors.
What were the most significant challenges faced by the Class of 2021 and how did they overcome them?
Our senior class had to finish their high school career in a hybrid learning setting, constant revisions to co-curriculars, and flexibility in how to pull off such staples of high school such as homecoming, fall play, Multicultural show, Variety show, awards ceremonies, NHS induction, band, orchestra, and choir concerts, in new and meaningful ways. This spring, our seniors led the way in livestreaming events for families and friends, even pulling off a hybrid livestream/ prerecorded IHSA Cheer State Finals event! They pulled it off, and showcased their ability to learn new and different ways to think of these traditions. The end results were amazing, this is a truly special class.
Principal's reflections on the Class of 2021:
The class of 2021 continued to provide leadership to our school, even in a pandemic, through social media, continued involvement in planning events through student council and senior class board, and running events outside in order to raise funds for students and families in need this year. I couldn't be more proud of the Buffalo Grove High School class of 2021!
- Principal Jeff Wardle