Class of 2020 Advisor Shares Perspective for Students

Chris Elsner, Lynden High School counselor, has been with the Class of 2020 for four years, serving as the group’s class advisor. She knows this group is “creative, compassionate and fueled with the desire to blaze their own trail.” She knows they are strong-minded, quick to lend a hand and have fun doing it all. She also knows that the last few months have brought with it shock, confusion, frustration and uncertainty. 

Elsner, though, knows this class has come together, leaned on each other and persevered to “use this time to not disconnect but rather deepen relationships.” Through it all, they’ve grown in ways she couldn’t have predicted. 

“I hope the class has gained an unwavering confidence to not only overcome challenges but to seek them out,” she says. “Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.’” 

After this class has refocused on the things it can control, it has come together. That doesn’t stop. Elsner’s message to the Class of 2020: “Serve others. Be authentic. Find the good in everyone. Work hard. Have fun and seek adventure,” she says. “I love you, Class of 2020. Thank you for making our school great!”