2020 Boys @ Founding Roots Dinner

25 members of Western’s Class of 2020 attended Founding Roots Dinner on April 27. By the way, this class was special. During their 8th grade year, Western was unexpectedly shut down and their trip to Utah cancelled. The boys did, however, get to play one last Capture the Flag game and a great Hero’s Race, culminating in a Green House Championship. Then their graduation was held in Beorn on a beautiful morning. This group has kept very close bonds during high school, two of the boys even flew in from out of town to attend the dinner.

These are the boys who attended:

Jonah Aycock, Paul Belton, Caleb Bryan, Will Cannon, JohnPaul Chincuanco, Henry Coffman, Andrew Corson, Taylor DeJarnette, Joseph Dinh, Juan Pablo Figueroa, Luis Garcia, Jacob Hanel, Samuel Hanse, Diego Hansell, Matthew Hedrick, Rafael Joseph, Sebastian Manero, Antonio Martinez, Patrick McCarthy, Patricio Parra, Colin Rivera-Leyden, Anthony Roy, Robert Sellers, Jack Stewart, and Bryce Whittaker

See details of Taylor DeJarnette’s speech below.

Taylor DeJarnette (’20) waxed strong in a speech to parents and faculty, representing his classmates. Here is the tail end of what he had to say:

But more than anything, thank you to Western for being like a second home. Every time I come back and visit, every teacher on campus comes up to me to ask how I’ve been and what I’ve been up to, and every Pigskin Classic feels like Thanksgiving, seeing old relatives I haven’t seen in a while. Why else would teachers still text me on my birthday? Why else would students fly from across the country to come back just for this event? Why else would I be here speaking to y’all tonight? Because Western is a family, Western still feels like home.

Full text of Taylor’s speech here