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Waubonsie Valley High School Class of 2021

Graduates in the Class of 2021: 632

Highest GPA: Brindet Socrates

Graduation Speakers: Meher Sethi, reflection speaker; Miguel Bugayong, farewell address.

Class Officers: Emily Shah, executive board president; Nitya Reddy, resident; Ellie Laub, vice president; Landon Williams, secretary.

National Merit Scholar Finalists: Sabul Ahmad, Juliana Canham, Manav Davis, Krish Vinay Desai, Nabeeha Khan, Arnav Khanna, Vinay Pai, Amogh Parmeswaran, Brindet Socrates, Karthikeyan Srinivasan and Daniel Treuhaft.

National AP Scholar: Brindet Socrates

Extracurricular achievements:

• Jonah Elias and Shivam Shah, robotics state qualifiers

• Katie Thomsen, Gold Medal Winner, National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

• Chess Team, sixth place state finish

• Scholastic Bowl - Regional Champs, KickOff Tournament Champs, Novice Tournament Champs

• WV Premiere - Literary Magazine - NCTE Award of Excellence

• Tri-M fundraised over $900 to support two families in need.

• Math team: Ethan Ma (1st place regional, 15th place state); Joshua Chi (1st place regional, 14th place state, and American Invitational Mathematics Examination qualifier)

• Music Program: 53 ILMEA All-District students selected, 11 ILMEA All-State musicians selected

Theater productions:

• Fall Play - The Nut Factory

• Winter Play- Whose Life is it Anyway?

• Spring Musical - Matilda Jr.

Senior Class gift: Collaborative Furniture for one of the Blended Learning spaces in the building.

What were the most significant challenges faced by the Class of 2021 and how did they overcome them?

I think the most significant was dealing with the pandemic and the roller coaster of emotions and changes it brought forth. More than any other class they were impacted the most. The Class of 2021 never had the opportunity to have any sense of normalcy, whereas last year's class had much of their year somewhat normal. I also think the challenge of everything being alpha sliced, time managed and restricted, took spontaneous events and made them more orchestrated and less in the moment. So much of what they enjoy doing is in the moment and comes through opportunities to shine and participate. All of those were so limited with such restrictions that it made for a challenging senior year experience.

What traditional events were adapted for the pandemic and how?

Everything required "adapting" for the school year ... many events were canceled but those that we were able to do we moved them to a virtual experience, such as the IP Scholar Event was virtual for parents, had students cross in groups of less than 16. The list could go on forever. We tried to create the best virtual experiences as possible for our students and families.

Principal's reflections on the Class of 2021:

The Class of 2021 was special in that they all dealt with adversity together, as one. Adversity tends to find its way in our lives at different times, however as a class they were able to take on this adversity collectively and grow from it together. I think this perspective will allow for them to overcome challenges much quicker moving forward.

- Principal Jason Stipp

Waubonsie Valley senior Zach Benzinger crosses the finish line during the Naperville North cross country twilight invitational in Naperville. Sean King/for Shaw Media
Waubonsie Valley senior Ellie Laub heads to home during a softball game against Oswego East in Oswego. Shea Lazansky for Shaw Media
Waubonsie Valley High School Daily Herald File Photo
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