ASPIRE graduates make mark on community

The ASPIRE Academy class of 2022 not only graduated on Friday but made a difference in the community during their school years.

“The people in the environment are unmatched by any other schools,” said class speaker Amber Barkdoll during the ceremony at the CVIC Hall in Minden. “I formed relationships in this school that I will have for the rest of my life.”

Students raised more than $700 to help a former student who is battling cancer.

They landscaped the eastern side of the Bently Campus to provide a bird sanctuary.

The students attended a job fair, organized a chess tournament, battled the staff in tug of war, threw water balloons at each other and got to participate in a prom at the CVIC hall.

Students said they were grateful for the experience that ASPIRE Academy had given them.

Four students at ASPIRE received Dean Seeman Foundation Scholarships. Each of these students received $2,500.

The students who received the scholarship are Barkdoll, Ian Haley, David Ramos and Hayley Smith.

Devon Watts graduated from ASPIRE with an advanced diploma.

This class may have found a way to make the best of their high school experience, but they still endured going through a global pandemic to get to this point.

“It was a tough year, but I made it,” said Joaqin Perez. “I’m here. That’s all that matters.”