Wheeler High School fosters resilient and collaborative students who possess “can-do” attitudes. I’ve watched these traits develop in the cohorts that have come before the Class of 2020, and I know they will flourish within the students who follow us.

There is something wonderful about our small school environment that nurtures self-confidence and enthusiasm. Our school’s administration and teachers have a history of creating a learning environment that promotes intellectual curiosity, the ability to be flexible and adaptable in the face of change, and care and commitment to our community, all despite the limited resources characteristic of a small town educational system. The passion and enthusiasm demonstrated by Wheeler teachers and administration is passed on to students. They believe in us and so we believe in ourselves.

The best example of this was reflected in the North Stonington town vote to fund the school building project in 2016. On the day of the town vote, Wheeler students of all grades and ages gathered outside the town hall to answer questions and underscore the importance of investing in our town’s future by supporting the building project. The vote passed, and I recall the tremendous relief and the celebratory honking on the drive home after the votes were counted.

We would indeed continue to go to school at Wheeler.

Our class will be remembered for several notable reasons. We are a class of firsts. The Class of 2020 will be the first graduating class to spend a full year (well, almost a full year) in our new school building. We were the first to try out the strange new class schedule that extended class times and kept us on our toes. Only, we didn’t just adjust to our new changes, we flourished. We relished the Dad jokes of the beloved Mr. Cawley, English teacher extraordinaire; we learned to appreciate the booming voice of Mr. Cervini, Algebra teacher, and we adapted when Mrs. Reyes replaced Mr. Chaney as Wheeler’s Vice-Principal.

During our senior year, we learned, we acted, we sang, we played sports, and we created memories. And then we were asked to do the near impossible, to adjust to a new and unexpected first - to be the first class to graduate amidst a global pandemic. To say that we have weathered many changes is an understatement. Yet, thankfully, resilience and collaboration is in our Wheeler DNA. We were raised on it since elementary school.

The Class of 2020 will refuse to be defined by a pandemic.

We will be defined by the traits that best define who we are. We are resilient, connected, collaborative, and close. I am proud to call each student in our class a friend. We are an inclusive group, not only because of the small size of our school, but also because we had inclusion and collaboration modeled by our teachers, parents, and community members. I truly believe our graduating class is something special, and given our current circumstances, we will no doubt be recognized as special by all. A difficult challenge is before us, but our ability to be resilient and collaborative makes me confident that the world is in good hands.

It’s been hard for our tightknit class to be forced to stay apart because of the coronavirus, but drive-through birthday parties and socially distanced get-togethers are helping us through. This pandemic is the final test that my classmates and I have to pass, and I have full confidence that we will come out stronger because of it. If the rest of the country’s graduates share Wheeler’s heart, strength, flexibility, and fellowship, there is cause for great optimism. Wheeler’s Class of 2020 has a bright future.

We are ready to embark on our own paths while maintaining our connections to home. I can’t wait to see the scope of the change that we can bring to our communities and to the world. Adapting to difficult situations and overcoming obstacles is in our nature, and I am confident that Wheeler’s Class of 2020 is up to the challenge.