Graduation 2020 was a singular and very special event. After the original May graduation date and location were scrapped due to COVID-19, the Class of 2020 celebrated on June 12 with a one-of-a-kind commencement ceremony in the TVS football stadium. Each senior sat with his or her parents and experienced graduation as a family. The ceremony was altered slightly to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of this virus, but all present felt that it was a magical, intimate evening.
The commencement speaker was Greg Kwedar ’03, whose career in filmmaking is quite different than what he anticipated at his own TVS graduation. He shared with the graduates some nuggets about choosing optimism, using their voices for good, and making the most of the lessons imparted by the adversity they faced during the second half of senior year. In his engaging, inimitable way, Greg encouraged them to value the education they received at Trinity Valley and to use it to change the world.
Greg Kwedar ’03
After the ceremony, there was a spectacular fireworks display sponsored by the Class of 2020 room parents. What a fitting way to punctuate a very unusual year!
The 92 members of the School’s 54th graduating class bring the total number of TVS alumni to 3,149.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TVS CLASS OF 2020!
To see the ceremony, click here.
To see the graduation program with additional information, including awards and colleges, click here.
As always, we are excited to share photos of our second-generation alumni. This year, nine graduates are children of alumni (and in two cases, children of alumni who married each other). Enjoy seeing these families below!
Taylor Benson and Erin Kennedy Benson ’96
Austin Byrd and Stephanie McWilliams Byrd ’91
Zander Engelke and Jon Engelke ’87
Caroline Farmer and Jeff Farmer ’87
Isabella “Izzy” Hoskins and Melissa Williams Hoskins ’93 & Ben Hoskins ’93
Alexandra “Alex” Lange and Field Lange ’86
Saleem Razack and Kerim Razack ’85
Preston Robertson and Kory Ogle Robertson ’89 & Chance Robertson ’89
Nadia Selod and Omar Selod ’88
All photos from 2020 graduation courtesy of Ashley and Marshall Robinson
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Trinity Valley is experiencing the unknowns and frequent changes of making school plans during such an unstable time in our world. Local, state, and federal mandates, as well as countless other factors, help determine what TVS administration decides is best for all students. Though regulations are very dynamic right now, we have made a plan, and we will modify should circumstances (and the law) change.
Please visit the TVS website and read about the Reopening Plan. The website is updated frequently, so check back often.
The School has worked tirelessly all summer to modify our campus to accommodate distancing and safe learning. Fortunately, our square footage allows everyone to be on campus at the same time while still safely distanced. In order to accomplish that, some spaces are being repurposed and some classes are moving to different rooms; teachers are acclimating to modified room set-ups; new signage offers reminders of protocols and demonstrates distances of six feet; hand-washing stations have been added; the list goes on and is constantly evolving. Throughout campus, flexibility is the name of the game. These physical changes are temporary and make it possible to conduct in-person learning, beginning later this month.
For families who so choose, there is an online learning option called Trojan Learning Connection (TLC). Teachers have spent countless hours this summer in workshops and trainings to become even more well-versed in online instruction and how to optimize this option to ensure a true TVS experience for those learning in this way. Should circumstances during the year dictate that all students must learn remotely for a period of time, teachers will use our robust online learning platforms to bring the TLC to all grades.
In-person learning will begin on August 19 with staggered start days for all grades, and everyone will be back on campus or utilizing the TLC as of Monday, August 24.
There is so much information available on the website. Please make special note of the video of some of the construction that has taken place to make in-person learning possible for our students and teachers. A new video should be out later this week, so come back for more.
Here’s to a healthy and successful school year for everyone!
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Watch your email about opportunities to live-stream TVS sporting events. This will enable all of us to be spectators through the screen, without violating restrictions around gatherings and distancing.
GO TROJANS!
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Dani Shewmake Mathisen ’14, a third-year medical student at UTSW in Dallas, is a published author! Dani wrote C is for Coronavirus, a book explaining COVID-19 to children. Dani shared on Facebook, “My extremely talented friend Peyton Pogue aka @pogue_design and I made this ABC book to help explain COVID-19 and all the changes (masks, social distancing, extra cleaning) associated with it. It also reinforces that it’s ok to not be ok right now and we’re all experiencing new emotions. I hope you enjoy it.”
Congratulations to Dani, and THANK YOU for helping children navigate the world right now! Learn more about the book here.
Speaking of second-generation alumni, Dani and her sister Alex Shewmake ’12 are in that category! Their mom is Karen Grant ’84.
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Holt Dorris ’17 (another second-generation alum with two Class of 1981 parents, Meredith and Hank) recently received a scholarship award from the Texas Business Hall of Fame for his company and work in the Rawls Business School at Texas Tech. His company is Town North Clothing. Congrats on a wonderful recognition, Holt!
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Kinh Pham (far left), Will Porter (front), Jay Trivedi (far right)
Kinh Pham ’19, Jay Trivedi ’19, Will Porter ’19, and friends James Dowell and David Evans launched a new business amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Frog Mask was established in April 2020. The entrepreneurs observed that limited availability of face masks threatened societal health and enabled counterfeit mask producers and scammers to push their products.
To combat low availability and counterfeit production, these college freshmen established a company that supplies the community and local businesses with high-quality, readily available disposable face masks imported from Vietnam. Says Kinh, “Our business model is unique because we are not solely profit driven. A large portion of the proceeds from our sales is used to donate face masks to small businesses, charities, and organizations in need.” As of early August 2020, Frog Mask had donated over 13,500 masks.
Kinh adds, “We believe that our experience at TVS has been a major influence on our vision for Frog Mask through our teachers’ encouragement to be proactive and take challenges head-on. We hope to inspire current and future TVS students to take matters into their own hands during this time and do their part in helping their community.”
Click here to learn more about Frog Mask, and how you can be part of their story!
Great work, guys!
