Brenna Sommer Graduation Speech

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Brenna Sommer, and I am truly honored to stand among this extraordinary group of graduates today. Throughout the past 13 years, we have been transformed into unique individuals, with the help of so many parents, teachers, and other staff here at NRHEG. So before I take you back in time to when we first started school, I would like to share an experience I have had this past school year.

 

For the entirety of my senior year, I have spent first hour with the NRHEG preschoolers, here in the high school, as a teacher’s assistant. At first I thought it would be difficult to spend this time with a bunch of three and four year olds in the mornings when I am barely awake, but that proved to be false. They constantly made me laugh, and it was an incredible opportunity for me to learn more about working with kids. I have only spent one school year with these kids, but I have seen them grow and develop in so many ways. It makes me think back to when all of us were this age, and how much we’ve grown through the years.

 

The first day of kindergarten came with some nervous jitters, and for some people, it also came with some critters. Although I was not in Mrs. Mangskau’s kindergarten class, Isabel Stadheim was. The way I understand it, Mrs. Mangskau gave out little critters to her class as a reward for good behavior. Long story short, Isabel got her critter taken away on the first day of school. In her own words, “it was self defense.” This was a good lesson learned for all of us: keep your hands to yourself. Another highlight of our kindergarten year was the zoo field trip and the neon T-shirts that we all wore. Congratulations again to Madi Murray for winning the drawing contest for the T-shirt; it really was a work of art.

 

A day that has been special throughout all of our years at school is homecoming. As many of you know, there was a marathon for the elementary kids and the winners got to ride on a float in the parade. I don’t know how many of you were there to watch the marathons go down, but let me tell you they were intense. I have never been a good runner, but I was always interested to see who would win. George and Daxter really battled it out each year of elementary school, and Hallie and Kia did the same on the girls side. It really was exciting to watch, even from a few dozen yards back. Starting in 3rd grade, we got to travel to the high school for elementary track meets. At the end of the meet, we had relay races, and teachers set up teams prior to the event. Like I said earlier, I wasn’t a huge fan of running, but I was excited. However, once a certain team was announced, I began to feel less excited. Mrs. Schoenrock announced “Hallie, Kia, George, and Daxter” as a team and to this day I still can’t believe they got put together. They definitely lapped some people and won the race.

 

As a class, we also enjoyed rollerskating in gym class, Halloween dress-up days, the teddy bear parade, and of course, silent ball. I’m pretty sure you could take any handful of these people on stage and put them on an Olympic team for silent ball because we played it so much. It was a win-win for everyone, because we loved to play it, and the teachers finally got some peace and quiet. Mr. Paukurt’s class was especially known for their mad silent ball skills. Eagle bluff was another fun memory from 5th grade. Many of us got lost during the GPS activity, but it was all a part of the experience. Throughout our 5th grade year, we all felt pretty cool being the oldest kids in the elementary school, and with that came a new sense of maturity for each of us, to some degree. We were learning more about current events and real world problems. So during the winter of our 5th grade year when the snow hill was almost taken away from us, we knew exactly what to do. Believe it or not, I think Kaden Nietzel and Dylan Fleming initiated this; we protested for the snow hill. Our whole grade was chanting on the snow hill to save our right to play on it, and we honestly felt pretty unstoppable. Now I don’t really remember what happened after that, whether we got to keep playing on the snow hill or not, but what I do remember is that it united us as a class. This was a very beneficial thing because it was time for us to go over to the high school for 6th grade.

 

The switch was hard at first. I remember it was a little overwhelming coming to the ‘big kid’ school, but we got through it together. Sixth grade was different from anything we had experienced before. Our classes changed each hour, we had multiple teachers, and there were so many new people to meet. Mr. Ferber was the first teacher I had in my 6th grade year, and I knew right away that he was going to be a very important teacher to me. Now I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t mention the “big race” between Mr. Ferber, Payton Bunn, and myself. I have suffered years of teasing because of this, and I have continuously challenged Mr. Ferber to a rematch, which he refuses because he’s scared to lose. Nevertheless, as we got older, we were given more responsibilities as well as privileges. The high school came with its own challenges, but also many opportunities. I think we all felt pretty excited about this change.

 

Since that first day of kindergarten, through middle school, and even high school, we have had students move away, new students join us, and our class has adapted and developed in several ways. One of the things I love most about being a part of this class is how close we are and how many memories we will be taking with us as we part ways. Elementary school taught us the fundamentals such as reading, writing, and math, but in reality it taught us so much more. We learned about kindness, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, and responsibility among many others. We were given the foundation to grow in who we are and who we could be. We gained support systems and relationships that will last a lifetime and carry us through any circumstance. So yes, the NRHEG elementary school provided us with the necessities to be successful in middle school and high school, and even beyond that. But the most important things it gave us were the friendships and memories we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

 

Before I pass the microphone to Jaylin, I would like to thank all of the staff at NRHEG for getting us to where we are today. We couldn’t have done this without you and your unwavering support and patience. Again, congratulations to the Class of 2024, and as always, GO PANTHERS!