Mind and heart on Othello

OTHELLO — As he left Huskie Stadium, brand-new Othello High School graduate Miguel Diaz said he thought the class of 2022 could look back on a job well done.

“I feel like, after all the hard times and the hard work, we all accomplished the one thing our parents wanted us to accomplish,” Miguel said. “We all did it. We did it as a class.”

In his speech outgoing Associated Student Body President Zak Rocha said the class of 2022 had faced some pretty challenging times. Rocha remembered being in class the day the announcement came over the intercom that school would be closed temporarily in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure eventually lasted through the end of the class’s sophomore year and the first semester of its junior year.

At first, Diaz said he looked at it almost like a vacation, but over time it turned out to be very challenging, socially as well as academically. When classes resumed he was actually looking forward to coming back to school, he said, but school was different and the other students seemed different. Over time he realized that was because he was different, Diaz said. It was a little disorienting.

Senior Lisbeth Vasquez said the graduation experience was a little disorienting too.

“It feels really surreal, I guess,” she said after the ceremony. “It’s just good to be here. It feels good.”

Senior Isai Vasquez said he had mixed emotions.

“It feels good in a way but it also feels sad in a way,” Vasquez said.

It was good to be finished with high school and moving on in life, he said, but it was also sad because the seniors are leaving their friends, and will no longer be able to share day-to-day experiences with them.

In her speech, valedictorian Kenzie Simpson also noted that high school is done for the seniors, and they’re not coming back.

“Never again will there be a time like this,”she said.

She’s been looking forward to the day when she could do new things and have new experiences, she said, but now that the end of high school was here, she found it hard to leave. The class of 2022 probably will never be together again, she said, and they will all go their separate ways.

“It’s all a little bit scary,” she said.

Salutatorian Isaac Bunch said he too was restless in his hometown and ready for new experiences. With those new experiences, however, will come new responsibilities.

“After 13 long years we’re graduating, not just from high school, but from childhood,” he said.

Simpson said the experiences the class has gone through will help them in the future.

“You know what? We got this,” she said.

Jairo Dominguez was thinking about the future as well.

“It feels very exciting to finally start a new chapter in our lives and become adults,” he said.

Jair Dominguez also a senior, and said graduation was a satisfying experience.

“Through all the tough times we made it here,” Jair said.

“It feels really good. All the hard work paid off,” said senior Bridget Maldonado.

Bunch said the seniors should remember where they came from.

“Keep in your mind and heart what Othello means to you,” Isaac said.

Jair started to walk away, off to join his family and friends but came back to ask if he could say one more thing to his classmates.

“All seniors, I wish you the best in life,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.