Resilient at Our Core

Hi, my name is Anna Klempay, and I am one of the valedictorians of the DSHA Class of 2020. It’s crazy to think that four years have come and gone already— four years of Dash-a-Thons, state championships, pep rallies, musicals, and spirit weeks. DSHA has been, and always will be, my second home, and it’s surreal to think that, right here and right now, we start a new chapter in our lives, leaving those familiar hallways and classrooms in the pages prior. 

 

There are a lot of things I want to say to my class as we part ways, including dozens of ways to say "thank you," thousands of ways to say "I love you," and countless stories, but I’ll save the sad stuff for later. This isn’t a goodbye as much as it’s a “see you later,” so I want to use my time here to describe just how proud I am of this class, especially considering where we’ve all been these past few months.

 

Our class is special in a lot of ways, and although it took weeks of reflecting for me to be able to define what truly makes our class more special than the rest, I ended up coming up with one single word that distinguishes us: resilience.

 

As I was thinking back on my memories from high school, my mind immediately went to all the good things I mentioned earlier— Dash-a-Thon, homecoming, all-school Masses, Air Band, Christmas in the Quad, winning Empress Crown every year, and lots of plaid. But as I thought harder, I realized how much our class had to go through in order to get here. We experienced heartbreak, loss, intense highs and intense lows, and failure. In our senior year alone, we experienced a global pandemic, several eye-opening tragedies that inspired the greatest political tension we’ve ever known, and weeks of solitude when we needed our sisters the most. I thought back to some days that we didn’t think we’d survive, days when it felt like the world was against us, days that pushed us beyond what we thought our limits were, days that tested our faith. I think back to those days, and I can’t help but wonder— how did we survive them?

 

And I came to the conclusion that we, as young women of faith, are far stronger than we could ever know because despite it all, we came to school (or hopped on Microsoft Teams) every day and strived for excellence. We still took up leadership positions every chance we could, tried out for the teams we’d always dreamed of making, and joked around with our friends in the hallways. On a daily basis, we demonstrated an inner drive, strength, and resilience that we didn’t even realize we had until we looked back on our hardest days and wondered how we survived them; until we looked back and saw all the ways our class pushed through tragedy only to come out on the other side with smiles on our faces, messy buns in our hair, and determination in our eyes. As we’ve seen throughout history, society will often use femininity to connote weakness or frailty, but look at these past four years. We made it through every day we didn’t think we could survive, and not only that, but we did it with the grace and elegance that only a Dasher could have.

 

Today we experience all of the joy and pride that we have rightfully earned, but we also step out into a world that will have its fair share of hard days waiting for us around the corner. We are about to step into a world where we may be pushed down, where we may hear more "no"’s than "yes"’s, where we may feel too tired to keep going. I wish there was something I could say or do to put a positive spin on the coming days, but given the truly incredible sequence of events that has taken place this year, I’m just as terrified and confused and worried as you are. At this point, we truly won’t know what’s in store for us until we’re standing right in front of it.

 

But I do know one thing: no matter what happens, at our cores, we will always be Dashers. If there’s anything our high school experience (and especially our senior year) has proven, it’s that our faith is stronger than our fear, and we can overcome any struggle if we place our trust in God. At our cores, we are resilient and powerful and important. At our cores, we are leaders, believers, critical thinkers, communicators, and self-advocates. At our cores, we are brave, even beyond the halls of DSHA. So no matter what may be in store, ladies, continue to seek excellence in all that you do. Take up leadership opportunities every chance you can. Go for the job you’ve always dreamed of having. Use your hardest days to fuel your determination, and use that determination to change the world for the better. You are made of the best things the world has to offer, and please know that, while scary days might be waiting around the corner, your best days are waiting just beyond that, and I know you’re strong enough to get there.

 

It certainly helps that we’ve had and will continue to have incredible cheerleaders along the way. To all the parents and siblings and grandparents out there who helped us get where we are, thank you for your endless support. To every teacher, staff member, and counselor who helped us get here, thank you for pushing us to be better women each and every day, for challenging us to go outside our comfort zones, and, above all, for modeling the virtues we should all strive to achieve. And finally, to all of my Dasher sisters sitting before me, thank you for being the best family I ever could’ve asked for. I can’t wait to see all the ways you change the world, and know that if you ever need anything, I will always be here for you.

 

Just remember going forth that God has a plan. Trust that everything will happen exactly like it’s supposed to. And please know that you are far stronger than you think you are. This class was built to make a difference, to enact change, and to be forces of creativity, justice, and strength in the world. We are confident. We are capable. We are resilient.

 

It’s time to go out and show them what we’ve got.