Bella Herndon has been attending Nederland Middle-Senior High School (NMSHS) since the 7th grade. Since moving from Broomfield to Nederland, she has made many friends that have kept her there, including her best friend Sara Feeley, someone she says has always been there for her and constantly makes her laugh.

Over the past couple of years, she has worked at Crosscut and at The Train Cars in order to earn a little extra income. After graduation, she plans to move to the East Coast with her best friend Cassidy Quigley in order to see the beach, attend music festivals, and find a new environment that feels different from Colorado in general.

She has loved the teachers at NMSHS, and in particular, Rovenna Yakubov has given her many kernels of advice that she has taken with her about not giving up on her dreams and not letting anyone stop her. While she felt that the classroom of Christine Mallery was a constant safe place for her. She loved taking orchestra in high school, felt that the upright bass was an easy instrument to play, and appreciated Ms. Mallery for knowing the students as well as she did.

She loves having been able to attend the same school for the past several years and watch how everyone has changed around her over that time. Those people, along with the fact that she prefers smaller schools in general, have kept her going there for her entire high school career. She will miss being able to see her friends every day but is still excited about a change of scenery on the East Coast.

Along with the orchestra, Herndon is passionate about British television. She found a British show on YouTube one day and found herself addicted to the various shows that Britain has to offer, including The Great British Bake Off.

In regards to advice that Herndon has, she wants other kids to know that the words of other students don’t have to define who they are as people. She recommends that students carry themselves in the way that they want to because eventually, other people will forget their opinions about them and move on with their lives.

Congratulations to Bella on her graduation and for starting the next chapter of her life!