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Waubonsie Valley High School Class of 2022

Posted June 20, 2022 1:00 am

Graduates wave to their families during the Waubonsie Valley High School graduation ceremony May 29 at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center in DeKalb. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Graduates in Class of 2022: 652

Graduation ceremony: Sunday, May 29, Northern Illinois Convocation Center

Reflection Speaker: Piya Shah

Academic Speaker: Sarah Bridgeman

Senior Class President: Olivia Smeltzer

Executive Board President Student Council: Nithya Mullapudi

Academic achievements:

• 302 seniors are Indian Prairie Scholars

Extracurricular achievements:

• Shreya Joshi - Spoke at TEDTalk Vancouver

• Scholastic Bowl, Regional Champs (three years in a row).

• Business Professionals of America - 24 students to nationals

• DECA - 19 students to Nationals

• Chess Team - 12th in state.

Athletic achievements:

• Boys Swimming - 9th in State; 200 Medley Relay - 4th in State

• Boys Cross Country - DuPage Valley Conference Champions

• Boys Golf - DuPage Valley Conference Champions

• Girls Basketball - Regional Champ

• Dance - Sectional Champions, 10th in State

• Arnav Deshpande (Boys Swimming) - 2nd in State - 100 Backstroke, 5th in State 100 Free.

• Antonio Torres (Wrestling) - 4th in State

• WVHS Athletes of the Year - Antonio Torres (football/basketball) and Elle Filipiak (Swimming/Water Polo)

Theater productions:

• Fall Mainstage - "One Stoplight Town"

• Winter Mainstage - "And They Danced Real Slow in Jackson"

• Spring Musical - "SpongeBob SquarePants"

• Senior Class gift: Furniture for collaborative work areas; Mural to celebrate our 50th.

What challenges did the Class of 2022 face as they returned to in-person school full time, and how did they overcome them: Finding the normalcy of returning to the grind of a full school day, 8 periods a day for an entire school year. While they adjusted to this they were the only students who knew what to expect for a full school year. Each other class had not experienced a full year due to COVID. Therefore as they adjusted to this, they also had to lead to show the lower classman what traditions were important while laying out expectations. They answered the call!

What was new in 2021-22: We worked as a school community to take a deeper dive into our school imagery, as it represents the Native Woodland Peoples and our schools connection to the Pottawattamie and Chief Waubonsie. We look to acknowledge and educate our school community next year given this work with a dedication exhibit at the student entrance.

Principal's reflections on the Class of 2022: As I stated above, our year was successful in large part due to their leadership. Much of their high school experience can be summed up as disruptive. They grew accustomed to being flexible, patient and knowing plans can change regarding their schooling experience involving activities, clubs, sports and the opportunities they were pursuing. They never lost focus of the long view and persevered in making the most of moments they were given. In that regard, probably the most prepared class in tackling the obstacles that will come their way. Congrats Class of 2022!

- Principal Jason Stipp

Piya Shah delivers the Senior Reflection Address during the Waubonsie Valley High School graduation ceremony at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center in DeKalb. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Waubonsie Valley High School performs during the IHSA state competitive dance finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Waubonsie Valley's Elliott Dam returns the ball to Hersey's Brent Chen during the first round of the 2A IHSA boys tennis state championships. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Media

Waubonsie Valley's Jacob Razo (34) breaks a tackle by DeKalb's Daniel Roman-Johnson (27) during the third quarter of an Oct. 1 game. Mark Black for Shaw Media

Waubonsie Valley High School. Daily Herald File Photo

Waubonsie Valley's Antonio Torres, left, and Grant's Justin Warmowski wrestle in the Class 3A 160-pound third place match at the state finals wrestling tournament. Torres was names as one of his school's athletes of the year. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

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