Senior Charlie Erker, despite an already crowded schedule, sought more meaning. He joined the Best Buddy Junior Advisory Board in January and is soon hosting the Best Buddies’ Friendship Walk to raise awareness and provide opportunities for kids in young adulthood with special needs.

“It would be incredible to get the full support of the De Smet community especially with the recent inception of the Inclusion Academy as they both share the same goal: providing a high school experience to those that otherwise might get overlooked.”

Charlie is just one product of the success of this year’s senior class. However, it hasn’t always been this way as their first two years were far less prosperous.

Their freshman year was right in the heat of COVID, and while the rest of the school experienced the same obstacle, as freshmen, the task became extra tall as they had to navigate the social atmosphere despite increased restrictions.

It [COVID] allowed us to find different ways to grow with each other.” Senior Blake Schlueter said. “Not a lot of us knew each other super well coming out of freshman year going into sophomore year, so there was a lot of anticipation. We were all waiting for all the restrictions to go away and to return to a state of normalcy.”

The restrictions were lessened, but masks still reigned at the onset of their sophomore year. However, that wasn’t the main obstacle that the class faced. 

In the early hours of Nov. 14, 2021, sophomore Cole Anello and four friends were involved in a fatal car accident that killed Cole and two others in the car. The moment that senior Connor Wilhelm heard the news, he will never forget.

“My dad came into my room with tears in his eyes and woke me up,” Wilhelm said. “He told me a few kids my age had gotten in this horrible crash. When I checked my phone everyone was frantically asking questions and trying to make sure everyone was okay, but no one heard from Cole. I didn’t want to believe it could’ve been him in the crash.”

Despite the horrific nature of the situation, the bond between students close to Cole became even stronger and extended into the rest of the community.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without the amazing community I was able to have around me, especially my De Smet brothers who were also very close with Cole, ” Wilhelm said. “Since the day it happened, there hasn’t been a time where I didn’t have a guy to share thoughts about Cole with whenever I’ve needed to.”

This created a challenging two years, but united by these previous challenges, the class achieved nothing short of success in their final two years. 

As juniors, they became the first class in three years to work in the junior service program, the first class since 2010 to be a part of a state-winning hockey team, the first since 2009 to be on a state-winning volleyball team, and the first to conquer the MICDS Rams in Lacrosse since 2013.

The winning has continued in their senior year as another hockey championship alongside a basketball championship have continued the winning ways. However, the championships are secondary in the class’s thinking when reflecting on the four years.

“I think what’s unique about the community is the support that is given from your peers and the faculty,” Senior and 2023 Lacrosse State Champion Alex Bentley said. “De Smet’s unique community celebrates excellence on and off the field with the idea of bringing us closer together.”

These seniors are just a few of the people who have experienced and contributed to the success of the class of 2024. Their lasting impact is felt by the faculty as well.

“They’ve taught me to keep it real with both my students and myself, and that it’s ok to make mistakes and try new things in the classroom,” Science Teacher and Coach Kennedy Phillips said. “My homeroom has taught me patience, love, and gratitude for the simple things in life, like a quiet 10 minutes before school, or donuts on a Friday morning. The class of 2024 has made me a better teacher, coach, friend, and person.”

As their time concludes, a long lineage concludes as well. Senior Daniel Ross is one of five boys to go through De Smet and is the last one in the family to complete the four years.

“Seeing all my brothers leave De Smet with a close group of friends that they called their brothers, it made all the sense to me to attend,”  Ross said. “De Smet has introduced me to guys I treat with the same respect as my brothers. The past four years have grown my family 100 times over.”