By Cort Monroe, Ed.D., CCUSD Superintendent
Congratulations to the Class of 2022 on their graduation! This current senior class is unique and I commend each one of them for their grit, resiliency and perseverance the last four years at Cactus Shadows High School.
With their four-year experience almost in the rearview mirror, graduates can now reflect on the challenges they experienced while in high school. Many times, challenges, when seen through a long-term lens, present valuable opportunities for good, and these challenges will hopefully help our graduates be better people going out into the world and pursuing their passions. They are doing so with the support of their parents, family members, friends, teachers, coaches, and others around them.
I would like to make note and congratulate the Class of 2022 on the following accomplishments:
• The Class of 2022 consists of approximately 460 graduating seniors at Cactus Shadows High School.
• Congratulations to Sophia Barnedo and Bryden Kaminsky on being named Co-Valedictorians. They each had a weighted GPA of 4.850. Ryan Toughill was named Salutatorian and was also named a National Merit Finalist.
• There were 13 graduates who were in the International Baccalaureate Program, 12 that were in the Early College Program, and 27 seniors attended EVIT.
• There were 1,558 Advanced Placement courses taken and 631 Dual Enrollment classes taken over the past four years by the Class of 2022.
• As of this article, we have 10 student athletes who have signed to continue playing at the collegiate level.
• There were many team and individual athletic and fine arts accolades that occurred this school year with the Class of 2022. Some highlights include:
• Girls Swim: Mady Bachmeier took first place in the 100 Backstroke and 200 Individual Medley.
• Girls Volleyball: Placed fourth in the state, reaching the semifinals.
• Girls Golf: The team took third in the state and Chloe Tarkany tied for 6th place for an individual in the state.
• Boys Golf: Two players individually went to the state playoffs.
• Girls Basketball: Reached the quarterfinals.
• In band, Devin Pease (clarinet) and Katie Rink (tenor saxophone) were the top two chairs in Regionals for their respective instruments.
• Ethan Thorpe was the CSHS Excellence Award recipient and led the Pledge of Allegiance at a Governing Board meeting.
Finally, as part of the Superintendent’s Challenge, which involves students committing to serve in the community by volunteering, senior Elizabeth Hord accumulated 658 volunteer service hours over her four years at Cactus Shadows High School. Fifty seniors participated in this Superintendent’s Challenge and the Class of 2022 contributed nearly 9,000 volunteer hours in bettering the local community over their high school careers. There will be many more recognitions and accolades to come.
We are proud of you and are excited for your future, Class of 2022.
