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Family and friends celebrated the accomplishments of this year’s 37 Anoka-Hennepin Regional High School graduates in a ceremony held at Anoka Technical College campus on Wednesday, May 31.
Student speaker A.J. Anderson said that during his time at the regional high school he could be a difficult student.
“I believe that the staff and students helped me grow from that,” Anderson said. “They helped me grow into the person I am right now. I feel as though, if I had never met all of the students and staff I know today, I believe I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Anderson said he was quite hesitant to give a graduation speech but was talked into it by his teachers.
“My future is looking very bright and I look forward to all of my fellow classmates’ futures,” Anderson said. “I cannot wait to see you guys do big things. Class of 2023, baby, we made it.”
The second student speaker, Rachel Godfrey, also found it surprising that she was giving a commencement speech.
“I truly never would have never thought I’d be standing here today, giving a speech on my graduation day,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey enrolled at AHRHS starting in her sophomore year.
“Regional is different from my home high school because it feels more like a home,” Godfrey said. “Everyone cares for the success of the students and wants to help them and learn and grow. As a student, I feel the teachers aren’t just doing a job, they care and want to help us.”
Godfrey said they wouldn’t have made it without help from the school’s staff.
“Regional is the oars we use to propel us forward; the success that we made is our own,” Godfrey said.
Principal Heather Forse said that moving away from a traditional high school wasn’t just what made this group unique.
“The class of 2023 is a special group as each of you have faced unique circumstances throughout your high school career,” Forse said. “In your first year of high school, the pandemic hit, and for the next two years school looked a lot different.
“… But here we are tonight celebrating all that you have accomplished despite what you had to endure — that in itself is worthy of applause.
“I know each of you have had an individual journey to graduation. But regardless of the path you took, you have made it; perseverance won,” Forse said.
SOURCES: Hometown Source
