Sara Sandstrom, Nederland. With caps and gowns and tassels on, the 20 seniors from Nederland High School were led onto Recht Field at Boulder High School by Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Superintendent Dr. Rob Anderson and Nederland Middle Senior High School Principal Rick Elertson. 

All BVSD graduation ceremonies were held at Recht Field this year. 

Family members stood proudly, clapped, and took a few photos of their special graduate as they walked by. I also suspect that there were a few tears shed. 

There were many special moments throughout the graduation ceremony. Even before Pomp and Circumstance was played, several members of the Central City Fire Department arrived together and in uniform to lend their support and love to graduate Sydney Nation and her family. It was absolutely touching to see them there. It shows what amazing family connections fire departments develop and also what a loving community this is. 

In his last graduation as principal of Nederland Middle Senior High School (NMSHS) Rick Elertson welcomed the families and guests. He then congratulated the graduates on a job well done.

Seniors Meagan Figgins and Sydney Mayhew played guitar and sang Taylor Swift’s Never Grow Up. These two very talented young women did a wonderful job. 

Commencement Address speakers at Nederland High School are always chosen by the senior class. This year they chose the team of teachers who were their fourth and fifth grade teachers, Brenda Theodorakos and Tammy Forrest. Combined they have taught 69 years at Nederland Elementary and together they are retiring this year. 

They reminded their former students of a few field trips that were pretty interesting, like when they spent the night at the science museum. They also told their students to be proud of themselves and proud of what they do in life. Find out what they are passionate about and follow that path. 

Seniors Sydney Mayhew and Madeline Prince gave a beautiful Graduate Address. They spoke about the positives and negatives of being in a small school. As they said, “Nederland is small and mighty”. There are advantages to small class sizes. Your classmates are more like siblings than classmates. That can be a good thing and a not so good thing at times. Ned schools are very unique in the fact that there are lockdowns because of moose and mountain lions. 

Sydney and Madeline also talked about one of the greatest strengths of NMSHS is the fact that the grade levels really mix. The freshmen are not just around the freshmen but everyone is around everyone. They cheer each other on and support each other. They are all in the school plays together. They are all in sports together. They are on this journey together. 

It was then time to officially graduate the Nederland High School Class of 2021. The formal statement was read and each student was presented with their diploma. Each graduate proudly accepted their diploma and their face radiated with happiness as they walked across the stage to shake their principal’s hand. There was such jubilation and triumph in their footsteps and in their smiles. 

As Mr. Elertson presented the graduates to their admiring family, friends and teachers, the mortarboard hats flew in the air as the crowd cheered. I think the graduates cheered the loudest. 

Congratulations Jamieson, Dante, Clementine, Alexander, Peter, Rylee, Noah, Madeline, Alexandra, James, Sydney, Parker, Aspen, Meagan, Brady, Michael, Zahra, Sydney, Elysia and Samuel. You will always be known as Nederland High School’s Class of 2021 and you will always be a part of Nederland’s family. 

(Originally published in the May 27, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear. We always have a lot more photos in the print edition!)