A Message from the Class of 2020: Graduation Speaker Jackie Gehringer, DSHA ’20

7/18/2020

BY JACKIE GEHRINGER, DSHA '20

Three young women from the DSHA Class of 2020 will be speaking to their class, family, and loved ones at graduation. They have each decided a to write a letter to commemorate their DSHA experience and those who have been a part of it.

Spirit of the Class of 2020

Jackie Gehringer, DSHA ’20, was chosen by her classmates to speak at graduation as the Spirit of the Class of 2020. She was selected for representing the essence of her class and what it truly means to be a Dasher— welcoming and caring for all, and for serving as a thread to bind the class of 2020 together.

Jackie Gehringer, DSHA ‘20

Class of 2020 Spirit of the Class

University of Minnesota, Class of 2024

Area of study: Journalism

Dear TSC,

Words cannot even begin to express the gratitude we all have for you. When I was a freshman, I had no idea what to expect from the teachers and staff at DSHA. To say I was intimidated would be an understatement, but my fears and worries quickly disappeared after meeting the kind and caring people you are.

One of my favorite things about the staff at DSHA is the variety of personalities. Whether it was Mr. Berens’ monotone, dry humor; Mr. Pavlovich’s booming voice in the hallway; or Mrs. Armbruster’s friendly “hellos” every morning; you all made each and every day worth it. And no matter how it was displayed, you all showed us a warm and welcoming environment with caring smiles.

However, your true compassion and understanding was revealed when we weren’t together. While we were all stuck at home during quarantine, feeling stressed and lacking motivation at times, you all took the extra step to remind us of the support we have. I personally was blown away by the amount of faculty members that reached out to me directly. During a time that felt hopeless and confusing, the DSHA TSC members were the ones who reminded me: “I got this. We got this. We can get through this together.”

As we enter into the next phases of our lives, we will hold onto the little things you did for us. The small talk in the hallways; the reminders of our skirts being too short or our sweatshirts being out-of-uniform; the morning prayers—and so much more—will always hold a special place in our hearts. We will miss so much: going to Student Services and always having a lifesaver; seeing Mrs. Thiele and Ms. McKeown in the library and immediately lowering our voices; and trekking up the stairs to the fourth floor to see Ms. Uihlein or Mrs. McQuide for Applied Wellness. We’ll miss the lunches in various teachers’ rooms and the inside jokes that came from those lunches. And although it’s heartbreaking to think we will never have you all again to teach us or help us out with our problems, it has been an honor and privilege to have you in our lives these past four years.

We will forever be grateful for the faculty and staff at DSHA. We will never forget the amount of support we received from all of you.

With love,

Jackie Gehringer

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