On Monday, May 1st, Goshen High School celebrated with 92 freshmen and their families as they were honored for academic excellence. They were welcomed by Dr. Younghans, who thanked the students for their hard work and encouraged them to make the most of their four years at GHS by getting involved.

At the start of the evening, the freshmen gathered for a picture:

Dessert for the event was provided by Honey’s Frozen Desserts. While people enjoyed dessert, they heard from three senior scholars who shared about their GHS experiences and offered some advice.

Noel Zak stated that she had some struggles early on in high school and felt overwhelmed, but she encouraged the freshmen to “find your passion”, “stick with it”, and “lose yourself in a musical rehearsal or whatever interests you”.

Ben Sommers offered three pieces of advice: Stay involved; Try new things; and Don’t get dressed in the dark. He told a story about his first day at GHS, where he felt good about himself, his choice of clothing, and his hair, and noticed that he was getting interesting looks from people all day long. At the end of the day, a friend pointed out that he had a nacho cheese stain on the front of his pants (from a burrito he had eaten the night before). And thus, he said, “Don’t get dressed in the dark!”

Nathan Berkey informed the freshmen that when he started high school his dad told him that at some point he would hit a brick wall; where getting by without effort or studying would no longer work for him. He said that they should recognize their own “brick walls” which would surely come, “no matter how smart you may be”. Nathan encouraged the students, saying “Don’t buckle under it, stay organized”. He also encouraged the freshmen to work with their teachers because “every GHS teacher chooses to be here every day” and that “teaching is one of the most selfless acts”.

Following the senior speakers, the students were given medals for their academic achievement of maintaining a G.P.A. of 3.7 or higher. The students were greeted and congratulated by their SRT teachers, the guidance counselors, and the GHS administrators.

Congratulations to these 92 freshmen scholars, their families, and the teachers and GHS staff members who challenge them every day!