My name is Callie Maybry and I am a Hillsboro High School senior who has attended HHS all four years.

In less than three days, I’ll be a graduate.

In the grand scheme of things, four years doesn’t sound like a long time, but in the moment, as an eighteen year old as a senior high school student, it felt like it was my whole life.

In fact, it was my whole life.

Now that I’m finally getting out, though, my perception has completely shifted.

It feels like it’s already in the past. I’m already reminiscing, and it’s not even over.

I’m grateful for the things that I’ve learned, the people I’ve met, and all the experiences I’ve had, no matter how high school “treated” me at points. There have been really hard times, and some not hard at all.

And as cheesy as this editorial might sound, I always had a few really significant teachers that helped me make it through the day

Today, three days before graduation, these four years lead me to get a little sappy for once. I apologize in advance.

Though I certainly faced rough patches, I always had a really significant teachers  n my life that helped me make it through the day. These teachers have been life changing for me. I want to thank them personally for everything they did for me.

Mr. Beamon gave me a high school home

Mr.Beamon was the first teacher I met. For both of us, this was our first year at Hillsboro. I was very unsure of what the years to come would hold.

As it turned out, we ended up spending a LOT of sweaty afternoons together with what many would refer to as the “band geeks”.

Despite how irritating standing in the heat and being relentlessly attacked by sweat bees could be, I loved it.

Being in band gave me a safe place to be in high school. Band welcomed me to my first group of friends, my first real high school bond with people. I was a terrified freshman, but Mr.Beamon and the marching band, gave me a home, and I can’t thank Mr.Beamon enough.

Being in the Hillsboro High School Marching  is one of my greatest high school memories, and I appreciate all the work that Mr.Beamon put in to making it so fantastic.

My Sophomore English teacher, Mrs. Skae, gave me confidence.

Mrs. Skae was my sanity sophomore year, though some students would not necessarily classify her as “sane”.

Her class and her fierce passion sparked my own passion. I watched her do what she loved, which, despite her workload, made that my absolute favorite class. English was already my favorite subject, but she brought it to life and taught it in a way I’d never experienced before.

I’ve never seen someone be so happy to be teaching, especially in a place where it would be a normal occurrence for a student to cuss you out. That played a big part in why I liked her from the get-go, but the more I had her as a teacher and the better our bond became, the more she helped me through some personal things, whether or not she knew it.

That year, I was so self conscious. Not only did I hate the way I looked, but I thought I was so unintelligent. I thought everyone else was better than me and smarter than me, but whenever I stepped into that class, that feeling went away.

Her class made me feel so good about myself, my intellectual abilities, and who I was as a person.  In a school where I felt completely irrelevant, unseen, and walked all over, she made me feel special. She helped me realize that I wasn’t just like everybody else; I was important.

Mr. Ward instilled in me the love of writing.

Mr.Ward, another English teacher with a passion for the subject, and a passion for helping kids grow. I had Mr.Ward my junior year. It wasn’t the easiest year I’ve ever had, but his class really helped me through it.

He let me discover a love for reading that no other teacher had shown me before. With that, he also nurtured my love for writing, and let me write about things that were personal for me.

I was able to find out a lot about myself through my writing, and to really grow as a person. It really helped me grasp the reality of a lot of the things I was dealing with at the time.

I wrote about a few really ridiculous things in his class, but I’m glad I had that opportunity. Not once did Mr.Ward judge me for being myself, or for some of my childish writings, or even my occasional slacking.

He believed in me in a way nobody ever had, which in return, has helped me to believe in myself. I greatly appreciate all Mr.Ward has done for me, and for my growth as a person.

Mrs. Biederman gave me the experience of being a disciplined winner

Mrs.Biederman has given me so many significant memories to look back on from my senior year. In marching band, under the direction of Allison Biederman, I experienced the high of winning. Not an emotion I thought I would experience in high school.

Earning a First Place trophy was an incredible feeling. Mrs. Biederman taught  our marching to be disciplined. Her enthusiasm for us as musicians and as students was infectious.

I’ve shared so many important experiences with her.

From the trip to  Disney with her, which was so special to me, to the time we learned some very difficult works, I got to experience bit by bit until I found myself playing  one of the best concerts I’ve ever done in my career with her. She’s worked so hard to make my senior year with the band one that would be special and memorable for me.

No words could describe how much I appreciate her and everything she’s done for me.

From the teachers I’ve mentioned  here to the friends sonf teachers who have been such an important, I’m so thankful for all of them.

Everyone who’s been in my life at Hillsboro, even if they’re not in it currently has been an important aspect of me becoming a graduating senior.

It’s been a wild four years, but I’m glad I got to share it with some really wonderful people.

They’re the reason I made it this far, so they also deserve my thanks for everything they’ve done for me.

-Callie Maybry; Senior reporter  for the Hillsboro Globe