As senior year and my four years of high school come to end, I want to take this time to thank a couple of people who have helped shape me into the person I am today.

Thank you Mrs. Wagner. I wish I could express to you more how truly grateful I am for the impact you have had on my life. Thank you for always listening to me complain about my problems with family, friends, school, and college, and helping me think things through in order to solve them. Thank you for always hyping me up and calming my nerves on game days while we drink our Starbucks. Spending every morning in your room for the past two years is something I’m not looking forward to leaving behind, and I can’t imagine starting my day without the positivity Nick Drahozal brings into your room when he walks in and yells “good morning” or Jeff Daubitz’s day-old doughnuts from work. Thank you for being one of the reasons I actually look forward to coming to school.

Thank you to my volleyball team. First off, shoutout to Austin for stepping up and coaching us; we definitely couldn’t have done what we did without his sarcastic personality, bad eyesight, and lack of punctuality. Going into my final season, I knew we had potential, but I never thought we’d end the way we did. After only winning a total of 15 matches last season, winning our first 18 this season was huge.  Before finally losing to Marion and beating them in the first round of the state tournament is something that will always stick with me, along with winning two tournaments and ending with a third place finish at state. Ending 32-10 was amazing, and I cannot thank you guys enough for making my senior season and Lexi’s one to remember.

Thank you to my basketball team. Our team connected so well, which was something that lacked a little in last year’s team. Despite our little rough patch of games toward the beginning of the season, we ended with the longest winning streak (11 games) since 2005. I’m going to miss going with Kiana to get Starbucks after school and then taking our pre-game nap on game days. I’m going to miss Addy dancing in the locker room before games, and I’m going to miss procrastinating on homework with Addy, Kiana, Kylie, and Maddix. It seemed like we were almost every game; we were writing papers on the bus and during the sophomore games the night it’s due. I remember when we got back from an away game the night before the big research paper was due, and Kylie and I went to IHOP at 11:00 p.m. despite neither of us being even halfway done. Sorry, Ms. Hayes for all the 11:56 p.m. submissions.

Thank you, Lexi. The first time we met was when we both made the fifth grade Bulldogs basketball team. You have been one of my best friends ever since. Thank you for the endless memories and for sticking by my side through eight years of volleyball and basketball. I wouldn’t have wanted to go through any of the school or club seasons without you (even though sometimes I was playing against you), and I’m so glad we could share the state experience together in both sports. I could not have asked for a better person to go through high school with than you.

Thank you to the underclassmen, especially Akeela, Keera, Caitlynn, and Libby. Akeela and Keera, thank you for making volleyball season so memorable; Akeela with your wild yet sensitive personality and endless dancing and Keera for always supporting and motivating me during the season. I have become so close to both of you, and I am so grateful for friends like you. To Caitlynn and Libby, you guys are such amazing freshmen, and I’m so glad that I was able to be on your team for your first year of high school basketball. You guys always bring a smile to my face when I see you in the hallways. You have so much ahead of you, and I’m so excited to see how you leave your mark on Xavier these next three years.

Finally, thank you to my parents. I have more appreciation for you two than you will ever know, and I cannot thank you enough for supporting me in everything I do. I am the person I am because of the way you raised me, and I hope you are proud of me. You guys are the biggest role models I have in my life, and I’ll be lucky if I can grow up to be half as good as parents and people as you both are to me. I’m not sure what I’ll do without being able to see you guys everyday, but you have taught me well enough that I’ll be able to be successful on my own. I have so much love for you guys, and I’m so excited for the next chapter in my life.

Jessica Callahan

Copy Editor