By Clara Moffitt

On May 27, 2021, an era will end. This year’s class of seasoned Tempe Prep veterans, the seniors, will make the long and envied walk across the graduation stage, shake hands (or bump elbows?) with our beloved headmaster, and receive their well-earned diploma. I am lucky enough to be numbered among these seniors who are helping to close such an era at Tempe Prep.

We will be known as the last class who had to voyage through the drawers of an art room in the 400s building and have class in an echo chamber also known as the French room or in a closet lovingly named “The Bowling Alley.” We are the last generation of students who went looking for teachers in the backyard of a house or found Mr. Lambros’s office in a literal closet.

Additionally, we will be known as the Covid class. In a year devoid of hugs, handshakes, and visible smiles, many of us have learned to raise our virtual hands or let our wrinkled eyes show a smile. Needless to say, Tempe Prep has stood resolute in the midst of the world’s chaos, and the Class of 2021, along with the rest of the TPA Community, has remained flexible and positive.

This year, as my high school career comes to an end, I am called to reflect upon what I believe to be the keystone of TPA’s campus: the newspaper. Over the last seven years on the De Equitibus staff, I have become not just a reporter, but an admirer of Tempe Prep, its students, and its teachers. I have fallen in love with our unique mission and curriculum. I have made connections with interesting students in a variety of grades. I have gained a greater appreciation (if that is even possible) for our outstanding teachers who exhibit their impressive qualifications not just in the classrooms, but in after-school clubs, PhD programs, and even camping excursions on the sides of mountains.

It has become clear to me that with each article that I write and the many that I read, I forge a new friendship. Under the guidance of the brilliant Mr. Schuster, newspaper has been a catalyst for growth both academic and social and I am so thankful for his dedication to making our staff what it is now. As I look back on the passions I have developed and the growth I have made since I started at TPA in 6th grade, I cannot think of a more perfect way to be involved in such an incredible community than both participating in and reporting it.

Yes, this year an era at Tempe Prep will end. But at the end of each era begins a new one — as iconic and meaningful as the last. Perhaps this era will be referred to as “TPA: Post-Apocalypt-” I mean “Post-Pandemic.” Or maybe it will be known as the time when you finally do not have to be athletic to use the gym. Whatever you choose to label the next few years, they are yours. It is up to you to make them. It is up to you to write about them.

In the newspaper, we have made our memories timeless, and this year’s seniors have made our history something to memorialize. Next year, I know you will do the same.

So, one last time: This has been Clara Moffitt, your De Equitibus Editor-in-Chief, wishing you the best and signing off.