Longmont's New Meridian High School celebrates graduates
May 27—Jeanne Gochenour's good friend died by suicide a month into the pandemic and, overwhelmed, she dropped out of school at the start of her junior year.
She planned to get her GED and go to cosmetology school, but instead ended up returning to high school at Longmont's New Meridian. Friday, she spoke at graduation as the school's salutatorian and is headed to the University of Northern Colorado to study criminology and criminal justice in the fall.
"So what brought back me to school — every singe person who believed in me, who pushed me to be the best version of myself that I possibly could be," she said.
She thanked all those who supported her, from her mom and her boyfriend to her teachers and principal, adding she also had to learn to believe in herself.
"If everyone on Earth believes in you, but you don't believe in yourself, then it's over," she said. "Like Henry Ford once said, whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right. You have to push yourself every day to do the things you want to believe are impossible."
New Meridian High School, formerly Olde Columbine, celebrated its 41 graduates on a sunny Friday morning at Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont.
Principal ToniJo Niccoli thanked the graduates for "making me and the staff laugh until we cried" and for their honesty.
"I hope you continue to be honest, keep it real and continue to question things in this world and challenge systems," she said. "Whether you want to learn more or make the world a better place, carry your questioning forward and use it to make a difference."
She referenced the "unspeakable tragedy" of the mass shooting Tuesday at a school in Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed.
"Events such as those can often cause people to question humanity or lose faith in our society," she said. "However, when I look out at each of you today, I'm filled with so much hope, hope for a better tomorrow and hope for a brighter future."
She described the graduates as compassionate difference makers who know how to persevere and stand up after life knocks them down.
"You are worthy of this moment, you deserve this moment and you have earned this moment," she said. "Your education is something that no one can take away from you. We cannot wait to see all the things that you guys go on to accomplish."
After the graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas, they exchanged final hugs with the school's teachers and took two red roses to give to people in the audience who had supported them.
Student speaker Leah Arens, who is planning to study psychology or pre-law in college, thanked the school's staff members for "believing in us when others didn't" and giving her a second chance at school.
"One thing about New Meridian is that everyone here is accepted, everyone here is included no matter what," she said.
She said her time in high school also taught her that everyone faces hardships.
"We push through our problems and become stronger versions of ourselves," she said. "If life gets hard, just keep pushing."
