Hayden High School graduated its first class of students to spend an entire year in the new school on Sunday, May 22, marking the end of an eventful journey for the Class of 2022’s 23 graduates.

On the first day of school in August, senior Piper Jo Jones said the year would be about improving the environment at the school after the inconsistency that the COVID-19 pandemic had brought on. Jones, Hayden’s salutatorian this year, championed her classmates’ resilience during her speech on Sunday.

“You can’t always control the action, but you can control the reaction,” Jones said, quoting her late father. “There are many bad things that can happen in your lifetime. The way you choose to react to this dictates how you feel, understand and grow.”

That same resiliency can be seen in the class valedictorian Cassidy Wall, who described herself as a “troubled kid.” Wall said something had to change for her to be successful, and that changed happened to be a move to Hayden her freshman year.

“It was the best thing I could have done,” Wall said. “You all have made these past four years unforgettable.”

“Not a single one of us has the same plan in life and none of us will follow the same path and that’s okay,” Wall continued. “We’ve all fought to be where we are, and I am so proud of us.”

Ten students in the Class of 2022 graduated with a grade point average above 3.7, with half of those above a 4.0. Many of them leave Hayden High School with a host of scholarships from throughout the Yampa Valley and beyond.

Some are headed to college, others are off to the military and a handful of them plan to immediately join the workforce — including two in the employee-starved field of early childhood education.

As they move toward their various goals, Hayden Superintendent Christy Sinner encouraged students to do what means the most to them.

“As you close up this chapter of your life and open up the next chapter taking lessons you have learned and live life to the fullest,” Sinner said. “The world has much to offer you, create a landscape for yourself. … Be you, find your purpose in life and always seek happiness.”