AURORA | Thousands of Aurora teenagers started new chapters of their lives this week.
As the graduating class of 2013, those students from both Aurora school districts walked across stages last week and received diplomas that end one story and begin another in their lives. As those new freshmen set off for college, some in new cities, the teachers and administrators that congratulated them on the way out will welcome a new class on the way in.
We caught up with three graduating seniors from the Cherry Creek School District to understand that transformation and change. From a Smoky Hill grad bound for the U.S. Naval Academy to a refugee who first arrived in Colorado from Nepal, these stories hint at the diversity and strength of the class of 2013.
Daniel Kasberg
The word “adventure” kept popping up in Daniel Kasberg’s sentences.
As the 18-year-old senior from Smoky Hill High School spoke of the impending changes in his life — transformations that range from the end of high school to the beginning of military training in Annapolis, Md. — he kept returning to those basic ideas. They’re the reasons he applied for a spot in the United States Naval Academy in the first place, he explained. They’re the motivations that made him look beyond the city where he’d spent the majority of his life.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been interested in being in the military,” Kasberg said as he walked across the Smoky Hill campus less than a week before his high school graduation ceremony. Decked in a T-shirt that bore the logo U.S. Naval Academy, Kasberg added that the decision wasn’t based on his father’s prior service in the U.S. Navy. “I wouldn’t say that my dad pushed it on me … It was the adventure, the opportunity to serve my country. That appealed to me as I grew older.”
It was the lure of faraway destinations and military service that made Kasberg start the application process during his junior year at Smoky Hill. Kasberg had the kind of grades and extra-curricular activities that would have stood out on any standard college application form; he was enrolled in the school’s International Baccalaureate program and he was an accomplished athlete on Smoky Hill’s track and wrestling teams.
For the application to the U.S. Naval Academy, however, Kasberg benefitted from his father’s military service. Because his father had served in the Navy, Kasberg qualified to apply for a Presidential Nomination to the school. In late October, the director of admissions from the Naval Academy arrived on his doorstep to parlay the good news.
“I didn’t realize she was going to be presenting me the appointment,” Kasberg said. “We just sat down in the living room. Then she said, ‘I have good news for you.’”
The good news was that the nomination from the President of the United States had come through. The good news was that Kasberg would start on his military career in June. The good news was that the years of hard work and focus had paid off. As Kasberg finished up exams and prepped for the coming graduation ceremony, he wasn’t looking to have much of a summer vacation. He reports for basic training in a few short weeks, and the prospect brought up a familiar word.
“I’m more excited than scared,” Kasberg said. “I’m looking forward to the adventure.”
Ram Adhikari
There are plenty of reasons that Ram Adhikari doesn’t take his opportunities for granted.
A childhood spent living in a refugee camp of 10,000 in Nepal; early schooling that took place in a classroom rendered of thatch that held more than 60 kids; poverty that drove his family to look for a new life in the United States.
All of those experiences guided Adhikari’s progress through Overland High School in the past three years.
“When I see the opportunities falling into my hands, I feel like I have to help my parents. I’m the only one in my family who is going to go to college and help them,” said Adhikari, who is set to graduate this week. “It comes right from my experience, from my past.”
A noticeable accent came through in Adhikari’s words as he spoke of his arrival in Colorado at the age of 15 and his years at Overland High School. Along with the rest of his family, he had to face the cultural barriers that come with a change of country. He had to study his favorite subjects in a foreign language and face the social cliques and pressure of high school with an entirely different cultural background.
But none of those challenges compared with what he’d already faced growing up in Nepal. His family had been exiled from the Bhutan by a repressive government because of religious reasons. His formative years were passed in a transitory place that was never meant to feel like home.
“We lived in a small hut. There were about 10,000 people in the camp where I lived,” Adhikari said. “I experienced the poverty and the lack of basic needs. There were only limited opportunities.”
Thanks to an international rescue organization, Adhikari and his family finally escaped the refugee camp and traveled to Colorado. After a short stint in Colorado Springs, his family relocated to the Denver border, and he started a new educational path at Overland.
He participated in robotics club at the school’s Institute of Science and Technology. He made bonds with teachers and fellow students; he worked hard on college applications and will head to New York in the fall for classes at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
But even with all of these successes, Adhikari is far from complacent.
“One thing I’ve learned is to not make decisions based on the past. Things are changing day by day; don’t think you will get this and you will get that,” Adhikari said. “Always look for more opportunities. Don’t just stop with one.”
Elijah Martin
Elijah Martin speaks slowly and he speaks with purpose.
That pace isn’t only because of the fact that Martin, born premature, has a speech disability and cognitive issues. There’s a good deal of thought and care behind the words of this 18-year-old student from Cherokee Trail High School. The marks of reflection and study come through as he speaks of his future plans, of his goals to become a curator at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. and the importance of family.
That kind of thoughtfulness also comes through as he speaks of the challenges he’s overcome in his four years attending high school in Aurora.
“High school for me was harder, because an average student would be able to learn faster,” Martin said before spelling out the impressive accomplishments that came with hard work. “My senior year I took two college classes and that was a big challenge. But I did it. And I got good grades all throughout high school, and I was a three-sport athlete.”
Those achievements didn’t come as a surprise to Martin’s father, Lloyd, or his older brother Joshua, another Cherokee Trail grad and athlete who was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this year.
“It was something that we could see coming when he was little. My wife, his grandparents – everyone had faith that he would turn out fine,” Lloyd Martin said. “He’s a phenomenal young man. (We) always told him to never give up, that perseverance can always overcome challenge.”
Elijah Martin will keep those lessons in mind as he preps for his graduation ceremony and as he looks toward his next academic step, Northeastern Junior College in Sterling. It’s the first rung on the ladder to the Smithsonian, Martin said, and he’s confident that a lifelong interest in history will see him all the way to Washington, D.C.
“I always had an interest in history since first grade, so I always loved it,” Martin said. “I’m a very confident person … (I) keep on setting goals for myself and keep on working hard.”
As he preps to move away from his home in Aurora and start on a new set of challenges, Martin said he’ll draw on lessons gleaned from his parents and from his siblings.
“My brother Joshua who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs taught me how to prepare myself academically for the next level,” Martin said. “He was a big part in my success.
“I managed a 3.2 GPA all throughout high school,” he added, and those words seemed to come a bit quicker.
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com
Congratulations to all of these students but especially Elijah….you always worked so incredibly hard and I am happy to see all that hard work pay off :)……good luck in your future 🙂