A farewell from Holly Hoskey, Kearsley Kudos for staff and students

As my high school career comes to a close and with it my time at The Eclipse, I remember fondly my high school experience and all the people that I was able to meet.

Though there were many speedbumps along the way, as no one could have expected to live through a pandemic during their high school experience, I still enjoyed being a part of the Kearsley community.

At the start of my freshman year, I was uninterested in developing friendships and mostly focused on academics, anticipating that I could always make friends later.

But as I moved through my first year at KHS, I realized the importance of building those relationships in school and noticed all of the amazing people around me.

Not only was I able to create long-lasting friendships, but I was able to learn a lot from the Kearsley staff as well.

Though all of my teachers were astounding, some honorable mentions were Mr. Robert Markwardt, Mr. Andy Nester, and Mrs. Marti VanOverbeke.

Mr. Markwardt taught me a lot during my two years in his class: the importance of being an eloquent writer, the value of always applying as much effort as possible to everything that you do, as well as how important it is to think rationally and rationalize your opinions.

Having Markwardt at the start of my high school career, really set the stage for my academic accomplishments later.

Though due to the pandemic, my class was never given the infamous duck or eagle speech, Mr. Nester still taught me a lot about what it means to be a proper citizen and how to effectively move through life without losing motivation.

Mrs. VanOverbeke is a teacher that I have had for most of my high school career, while in her English class sophomore year she introduced me to The Eclipse and allowed me to pursue a position as a reporter, through which I was able to meet so many wonderful people.

Not only did the Kearsley staff influence my learning, but my family as well, especially my mother who pushed me to pick challenging classes and was there for me when I needed someone to vent to, especially during the pandemic as it was difficult for me to transition into an online learning environment.

She was always a confidant for me, always helping me when needed and being someone that was always in my corner, supporting me through the good and bad times.

And as my high school experience comes to an end, I want to leave with underclassmen with one piece of advice that my mother gave me: Take school seriously.

High school is the end of the line for mandatory schooling and the actions that are made during these years can affect job opportunities and further educational opportunities.

In high school, people develop their academic mindset and through these years people decide what path is going to work best for them, whether they are going to further their education or directly enter the job market after graduation, but if not taken seriously it could close opportunities.

You have to strive for the future that you envision for yourself.

I leave with that sentiment, wishing all of the underclassmen and my fellow seniors luck!

Goodbye KHS.