Kenai McCray stands before us, radiant and composed, having managed to get through a challenging senior year where school, life and everything else, got put through the pandemic grinder. Asked for advice she would share with her younger self, Kenai stated, “Live your life to the fullest.” But what does that mean for a young person who finds themselves in a senior class held at an arm’s length away from the world?

For Kenai it often meant persisting. It meant figuring out her way forward even when the guides she had held (like in-person school) became mist overnight, and Kenai had to find new signposts and new paths. And so she did. Kenai made it. She got to put on her blue graduation gown and even without a physical stage to walk, Kenai made it across the finish line.

Kenai had been putting one foot in front of the other, trying and succeeding to navigate the immense challenges of a suddenly upside down world, for so long that she needed a little coaxing to pull up and celebrate herself. She moved through her pandemic Netflix survival mode and now says she is obsessed with “going outside,” and that she would call her life “fun,” and that a true and beautiful story about herself would be her own “smile.” Well she’s right. When Kenai opens up and laughs, her ease and her joy are gifts both to herself and to the world around her. Truly Kenai’s joy is the sun coming after the rain.

As she continues to make her way after highschool, please join us in celebrating Kenai. May Kenai continue to seek out fresh air and sunshine on outdoor adventures. May she continue to set goals and achieve them, even in the face of set-backs and adversity. May her smile and laugh and joy continue to be gifts to herself and to the world around her. Congratulations, Kenai, may the road rise to meet you.