Class of 2021: Showing the Power of Resiliency

A little over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, students across the nation are still wondering if life will ever return to normal. This year’s graduating class has seen their hopes of participating in regular activities dashed as concerts, plays, speech competitions, sports, and other activities were canceled until further notice. In this series, the Progress will spotlight a few of the outstanding seniors from area high schools. While this school year was nothing like they had envisioned it would be, they have each worked to make the best of their respective situations. The positivity, resiliency and uplifting outlook of the Class of 2021 is contagious. The Progress wishes them the best of luck as they venture into the world.

By CHARLENE PAUL

The Progress

Elena “Gracie” Cramer is a familiar face to those who get their favorite drinks at the Splash Pad in Mesquite, Nevada.

“I’ve worked there since my freshman year, and Zoey Tobler and I got promoted to be the managers in August before our senior year,” Cramer said. “Since COVID, we have stayed really busy. Since we are a drive-through, it is an easy place to get out and get something yummy to drink.”

Cramer said that her favorite class is the business class she is taking now. “Since I’ve managed Splash Pad, it’s made me really interested in business and marketing,” she said.

Gracie also enjoys the study of anatomy. “Trying to decide what I was going to go to college for, it was either going to be business or somewhere in the medical field,” she said. “I like them both, but I have kind of given up on the medical field dream. I think business is where I’m going to end up going.”

Gracie said that she planned on taking a slightly different path than many. Holding off on college to enter a hands-on internship program.

“I was originally going to Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona,” she said. “But I got accepted into this internship called PRAXIS. It’s a program where you learn from people who are actually in the field you are interested in.”

Gracie grew up in Mesquite and says that she has loved it here. “We have a lot of dear friends here, and I call a lot of them my cousins,” she said. “I can see myself moving back here to raise my family someday.”
Gracie is the daughter of Steve and Kim Cramer.

VVHS Senior Class President Trishelle Vasques loves staying busy. She loves being involved in things.

“Being involved in school and with my class is always so much fun,” she said. “That’s why I decided to be part of the Student Council. I started out as a historian for my junior class, and then for my senior year, I became Senior Class President.”

Trishelle said that the role of the student council has changed somewhat over the past year. “In the past, Student Council planned things like fun assemblies,” she said. “But this year, we really couldn’t do that. But we did manage to do some fun things like dances outside of school. Those were super fun.”

This year, Trishelle served as the senior editor for the school yearbook. “It was so much fun making the pages and building the book,” she said.

“It is always a blast being part of the clubs and being part of this school,” Trishelle said. “I always had the best time. It’s been a little different this year, though, because we couldn’t see each other in the hallways, but we still managed to do our best, and we have a great group of moms who help us out with so many things.”

After graduation, Trishelle will be interning for a local dental office. Then she will attend Snow College in the fall.

“After I finish there, I’ll move down to Dixie State University and grab my dental degree,” she said. “I plan to be an orthodontist.”

Trishelle is the daughter of Rogie and Fil Vasquez.

Student Body President Kyra Larsen has done her best to keep a positive attitude through a really crazy year. She has remained undaunted despite all the loss that has been felt by her class.

“The positives were that we had a chance as a Student Council to do a lot of thinking outside the box and do a lot of new things,” she said.

“We weren’t able to do our regular MVTV school broadcasts since we weren’t in school,” Kyra said. “But we did them from home until we came back a few weeks ago. Now we can interview students like we used to.”

Kyra plans to attend to Dixie Tech in St. George in the fall to go through their digital media program. “I like working behind the scenes,” she said. “I like the editing process of making videos.”

A highlight of the year for Kyra was the Homecoming dance, organized for an off-campus location by the student council.

“It was the first dance that included everyone from freshman to senior,” Kyra said. “It was a little sense of normalcy. We had Homecoming royalty, so the seniors got to still experience that without missing out.”

Kyra said she likes the Moapa Valley for its strong sense of community. “You have all of these people behind you to help you,” she said. “Just seeing all the parent volunteers and all the community members still show up was really great.”

“I would like to share that we had so many great advisors and teachers who put in so much work and effort to give us a normal year.” she added. “I want to thank them for their hard work.”

Kyra is the daughter of Dallas and Heather Larsen.

Student Council Member Madi Fairchild moved with her family to Moapa Valley from Texas when Madi was in kindergarten. “I basically grew up here,” she explained. “I love how small it is because you can be close with everyone.”

Madi has served on Student Council during all four years of high school. She currently serves as Student Body Historian,.

“It’s kind of a weird year, so it’s hard to actually get stuff to record, but you do the best you can,” she said. “Student Council is still my favorite class.”

Madi said that her class has experienced a lot of ups and downs. But she notes that there has always been something positive in the mix.

“Lots of our activities were shut down, but we were able to improvise and do things a little bit different and still be able to get together,” Madi said. “Or like, even though you have to wear a mask, it’s better than sitting at your computer at home. You just have to keep trying to find little, small, positive things.”

Madi loves Moapa Valley because there are so many things that kids can do. “There is RZR riding, going to the rez, hiking, off-roading, and going to the lake a lot. I just love it here.”

After I graduation, Madi is planning to go to Southern Utah University (SUU) in Cedar City.
“I’m thinking about going into early childhood education or elementary education,” she said. “I just love being around kids and helping them, so I think that would be a good fit.”

Madi is the daughter of Chad and Brandi Fairchild.