Aria Bowen – the only CHS Class of 2021 grad who napped as a baby on the Videoville counter. (Photo courtesy Mekare Bowen)
Miss Bowen rocks designer eye-ware at a 2019 football game, while fellow grad-to-be Savannah Smith is faster than the camera. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Old-school Savannah and Aria. (Photo courtesy Konni Smith)
Can’t tell the graduates without a scorecard.
So here you go, ready to be laminated — the Coupeville High School Class of 2021.
Every name matters, but one stands above them all for me.
Aria Bowen is the final reminder of my 12-year run behind the counter at Videoville from 1994-2006.
The same counter where a lil’ Aria took naps in her carrier while I jabbered about movies, her older sister Mekare built modern art sculptures back at the block table, and their mom, Dea, served up Miriam’s Espresso drinks.
So she gets three photos and a lot of the rest of you grads-to-be maybe don’t get one in this story.
You’ll survive, and still graduate.
Then you can go build a time machine, travel back to when Videoville rented 500 VHS tapes on a Friday night in Cow Town, and plop your own baby tush on our counter.
And, having bent time and space, you can act all surprised when, magically, it’s suddenly you getting three photos in a 2021 graduation story.
Simple really.
Until then, Aria (and a bunch of people not named Aria) form the CHS Class of 2021:
Constance Armitage-Buckley Knight Arndt Mollie Bailey Owen Barenburg Megan Behan Drake Borden Aria Bowen Anya Burns Elisa Caroppo Coral Caveness Aurora Cernick Autumn Cernick Kylie Chernikoff Alexis Czarnik Sionna Darga Sage Downes Dakota Eck Mark Fain Emily Fiedler Zac Gardner Trinity Hill Isabel Hucke Thora Iverson Alex Jimenez Emma Kalweis Eli Kastner Mikaela Labrador Michael Laska Ivy Leedy Catherine Lhamon Marissa Malinowski Jaimee Masters Lacy McCraw-Shirron Heidi Meyers Daniel Olson Cierra Otto Desiree Otto
Kimberly Partida Chelsea Prescott Richard Rebischke-Smith Jackie Reid TJ Rickner Silas Russell Chandell Schoonover Andrew Score Ben Smith Savannah Smith Liem Solow Jacob Thurston Lilly Tornensis Maddie Vondrak Erik Webster Brandon Whitaker Marissa Williams Genna Wright Sam Wynn Lily Zustiak
Mollie Bailey and other Coupeville High School Class of 2021 students raked in awards and scholarships in a virtual ceremony. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Let the scholarships rain down. Virtually, at least.
With the pandemic still disrupting life across the globe, Coupeville High School is giving out awards and grants to Class of 2021 students in an online ceremony, saving the live experience for Friday’s graduation.
This marks the second-straight spring the senior awards night has been virtual, with all signs pointing to 2022 breaking that pattern.
Scholarships and awards:
Association of Old Crows
($6,000 – four years):
Mollie Bailey
AAUW Academic Scholarship
($2,000 each):
Mollie Bailey
Megan Behan
Bayleaf Foreign Study/Travel
($1,000):
Knight Arndt
Big Brothers, Big Sisters
Julie Langrock Memorial
($2,500):
Drake Borden
Cascade Custom Homes and Design
($2,500):
Alex Jimenez
CHS Booster Club
($1,000 each):
Mollie Bailey
Alex Jimenez
Catherine Lhamon
Daniel Olson
Ben Smith
Genna Wright
CHS Parents
($500 each):
Mollie Bailey (Sports) Megan Behan (General) Autumn Cernick (Race the Reserve) Kylie Chernikoff (Life Grant) Emily Fiedler (Life Grant) Alex Jimenez (Race the Reserve) Catherine Lhamon (Sports) Chandell Schoonover (General) Ben Smith (Sports) Lily Zustiak (General)
No word yet if Kevin Bacon will make an appearance, but Coupeville High School parents are planning their own, non-school Prom for two weeks after graduation.
It goes down Saturday, June 26th at 8 PM at Mile Post 19 Farm (18997 SR 20).
There will be a DJ, food, and bonfire, with a King, Queen, and court announced.
CHS has not held any dances during the 2020-2021 school year because of the ongoing pandemic.
The press release from senior moms:
Prom has not been cancelled for our JR’s and Seniors!
An event will be hosted on June 26th (Non school related.)
Our kids deserve this. But the community will need to volunteer and get involved.
Destination is in place and DJ already reserved. We will need to come together to make this great for our children.
Please message Stephanie Grimm Streitler (360-622-6059) if you want to join us in making this happen.
Also please no negative comments as our hearts are in it for the right reason. ❤️