Dear Verrado,

I have learned a lot through my time here and I am glad to have gone here all four years of my high school career. Some of my best memories have been here, whether it was waking up at 5am and having to be here for SkillsUSA competitions before the sun was even up, going outside during viper connect to watch the eclipse, or even just being with friends and laughing in all of our classes.

I feel like I have grown so much as a person, both personally and educationally. I have been able to learn and grow as a person, but also learn so much about our world, and find my passions in school. In this journalism class, I was able to learn so much about reporting, writing, but also especially about graphic design and even social media management. Through this class, I was able to meet new friends and have such a fun time learning about journalism, and all the visual elements it can include.

My time as a senior has been very hectic considering all the different extracurriculars I was involved in, a senior project in my youth council, AP classes, and a part-time job. However, I have enjoyed every second of it and am grateful for it all. I have made so many friends in high school and had so many amazing memories and experiences. I have so many memorable instances at Verrado between journalism, SkillsUSA, school dances, winter break parties, lunch, football games, and more. Even though my schedule was constantly packed, I feel like I was truly able to enjoy it all.

Now that I’m going into college, life will be much different and I’m not going to have the same experiences that I have at Verrado. My social life will be completely changed, my classes different, and have completely new experiences. Although everything will be different, I feel like I have everything I need to be prepared. I have taken so many college-level courses, been able to meet so many people, and grow in my professional skills.

High school has overall been such an amazing time of ups and downs, trials, errors, learning, but still such a great time. I can confidently say that you only go to high school once, so take advantage of all opportunities that high school has to offer. Take those fun classes, join that club, and meet new people.

Goodbye, Verrado.

Caleb Balos