Red Canyon graduates celebrate perseverance and compassion at 2024 commencement
In his charge to the class, teacher Brian Wood proudly states: 'You turned your life around'
Ben Roof/Vail Daily
Every high school graduation is special. But the cheers seem a little louder, the hugs a little tighter for the 2024 graduates of Red Canyon High School.
The county’s alternative high school held its graduation Friday at its traditional venue, 4 Eagle Ranch. The weather for the ceremony was a little cooler than usual, but the sun was bright, and hawks circled in the breezy sky above. And the graduating seniors who spoke talked about their admiration for their teachers and the place they’d called their educational home.
“I am so thankful for all of you,” Kathryn Schuering said in her remarks to her classmates and the friends and relatives gathered for the celebration.
Friday’s celebration marked the end of the students’ hard work. In a joint address, Miranda Amieva and Jennyfer Duran Villa discussed the importance of an alternative to traditional high schools.
“Overall, it is about customizing the learning experience to fit the learner, not the other way around,” Duran Villa said.
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Attention from the staff
Amieva acknowledged that “due to family circumstances” she stopped going to school at one point.
“My phone quickly blew up with text messages asking where I was and if I was OK,” she said.
Villa had a similar story.
“The counselors showed up to my house to check on me after I extended one of my breaks,” she said. “They played a big role in helping us both return to school and provided the guidance and support we needed to make it happen.”
There’s a lot of gratitude for that kind of support from the school’s staff.
In her address, Shylah Bridgewater talked about her first interview for the school in December 2021.
On crutches due to ankle surgery, “Throughout the interview these people, kept asking me if I wanted a scooter instead of using crutches and how I was feeling,” Bridgewater said. “Little did I know that this was only the beginning of the caring and compassionate relationship I would have with my two counselors, always pestering me what I need.”
That attention has paid off for Bridgewater and others.
Estafania Jaquez Rios was recognized as this year’s CareerWise Apprenticeship winner. In addition to working more than 900 hours at Vail Health, Rios also carried a 4.0 grade point average.
After the ceremony, Shylah’s mother, Nicole Bridgewater, said her daughter has earned her Certified Nursing Assistant certification along with her high school diploma and intends to pursue a nursing degree.
Traditional high school wasn’t a good fit for Shylah, Nicole said, adding there didn’t seem to be any patience for her youngest daughter’s educational needs. The Red Canyon approach “worked for her,” Nicole said.
Understanding the mission
Teachers at Red Canyon understand that mission, of course.
In his charge to this year’s class, teacher Brian Wood asked the graduates to think back to the moment they realized “that going to school was no longer a part of your life. When you realized that there was either something wrong with school or something wrong with you for no longer enjoying school.”
Now, with the moment of graduation at hand, Wood asked the class of 2024 to “embrace this moment. Remember where you came from, but also who helped get you here. … You turned your life around. We are so proud of you.”
The gratitude shared by so many Red Canyon graduates lasts.
Red Canyon alumni Wilber and Natalie Mendez, along with other Red Canyon graduates, created the Encourage YOU Scholarship to prompt future success by others.
Just before the graduates moved their tassels from right to left and moved to the 4 Eagle barn for cake and lemonade, Rios told her 70 classmates that “many of us have spent our lives fearing failure. … Embrace that after today you are a new individual full of experiences, knowledge and potential. … Take more risks, learn to be bold and be confident in everything you do. Don’t forget that your current circumstances do not determine where you can go, they only determine where you begin.”
