Dear Class of 2020,

As our time at BHS is coming to a close, there’s so much to be said- especially now. We all have read the emails about how no matter what, we’ll still have celebrations and activities in our honor. Graduation is no longer the same, prom doesn’t look promising, and I’m losing the hope to see us together again. But in light of all this negativity in the world, I want to bring some positivity to the Class of 2020. Not just any Class of 2020 though, the Stephen T. Badin High School Class of 2020. You know… the one that has defied odds left and right, and the senior class that has truly left a mark on their school. Our class. Because, what other class has experienced what we have in these four, short years? So, let’s look back for a moment.

Back to freshman year, when we all experienced the Back to School Dance for the first time, and were all in total shock afterwards by our first high school experience. Or the unfortunate times Mrs. Long confiscated our phones (if she caught them) and left hundreds of selfies on them, and Zach Switzer carried chicken tenders in his pocket. Or our first pep rally, or our first football game, or our first ever Spirit Olympics, where Gabe Hirka painted up as the Last Airbender and led our class section, and we lost terribly that year. But it was fine that we had lost, because we went on to end high school with the first three-peat in who knows how many years! Like… who does that? Oh, and a car caught on fire in front of our school, like it was a normal thing.

And then we moved into our sophomore year, where we got the chance to go to our first real dance, revived the decades-long rivalry between Ross and Badin, and we proved yet again that real rams are green. Sadie Hawkins became another tradition that was brought back, and many of us really began to take into shape the people we are today. I can’t forget to mention that we finally met Rudy! We witnessed Mr. Mate rolling around on the gym floor during a pep rally, saw drug dogs around the school one day, got to go on our sophomore retreat, and oh yeah, we survived that whole plane crash threat situation… again totally normal.

We then entered junior year, thinking, “will we ever get out of this place?” We worked our butts off in AP courses, were introduced to socratic circles and Beowulf by the lovely Kathy Jeffcoat, went to a few more pep rallies, won Spirit Olympics again (no big deal), and had our first prom. But, we also dealt with an incredible loss when we said goodbye to our beloved teacher and friend, Mr. DeAngelo. We beat Ross again, made it into the playoffs, and some of us even got inducted into the NHS. We met some new teachers that year, like the wonderful Jordan Seitz, Tara Robinson, and fan favorite, Eric Cole! We also finally learned what Naviance was, why it was so important for us to use, and began the search for colleges.

Then, all of a sudden, it’s senior year and senioritis finally kicked in. We became the first class to start a tradition of painting our parking spots, became the last class to experience Kairos as seniors, and (I can’t believe I’m mentioning this) also became the first class to lose to Ross, but we made up for that in round one of the playoffs thanks to Josh Hegemann, when he made a touchdown in the first 14 seconds of the game. On top of that, we made history by finally beating Alter for the first time in 20+ years, not once but twice. We were introduced to drug testing, and we also got the Hill taken away from us for a few weeks. We attempted the first Senior Skip Day, and failed miserably. Mikey Madden brought in a whole mini-fridge for Mr. Seitz, and we also said goodbye to a classmate because of some oranges. We had a whole week off of school because of the school’s new extension (that we won’t get to experience), but had to deal with a new school entrance that ultimately led to the best Back to School Dance walk-in ever. Many of us learned how to juggle and hacky-sack in room 010, and heard Mr. Seitz’s wonderful karaoke sessions during flex bells. We celebrated Senior Nights for our Fall and Winter sports, and the rest will come eventually.

Class of 2020, we were brought into the world during and after 9/11, and now we’re graduating during a global pandemic. These events will shape us, and we have to adapt to new learning platforms, but that’s okay. We’re the Class of 2020, we can overcome and achieve greatness even in the toughest of times. We will continue to defy odds.

Our most anticipated events and ceremonies may be postponed, but they will soon come. This will soon be over, and we will soon leave BHS for good. Soon, our lockers will be passed onto the juniors, our parking spots will be painted over, and our class color will become the Class of 2024’s. But for now, in these last months, let us remember, and let us look forward to seeing each other again someday.

And for the underclassmen, cherish your moments and memories as much as you can, for us, the Class of 2020. Scream a little louder at games, dance a little bit harder at homecoming, hug more classmates during the sign of peace, love this school a lot more, thank your teachers often, and don’t take for granted the time we were given here. When they said senior year goes by quickly, we never thought it’d be this soon.

So for one last time, thank you Seniors and thank you Stephen T. Badin- for the memories, the friendships, the opportunities, and for being our home for these past four years. I cannot wait for the day we can reunite and celebrate our accomplishments and perseverance.