By Emme Townsend
When you walk down the agriculture hall, you might spot a paper tree right outside of room 125. Mrs. Nancy Kunk’s thankful tree was inspired by her first and third hour classes learning about leaves.
Students were given one leaf and on that leaf they stated what they were thankful for. Most of the leaves gave acknowledgements to family members, friends and memories. But some fan favorite thankful leaves include: A mower, Mrs. Kunk, the Green Bay Packers, hair dye, and the ominous, “You’ll see after break.”
Mrs. Kunk’s tree may inspire other students who walk through that hallway to stop and take a minute to think about what they’re thankful for, regardless if they’re in her class or not. And the students all around Delta are thankful for many different things.
Junior Lyla Bowden’s first thought is her parents, Jessica and Nate.
“My mom is always by my side no matter what and she makes my life better each and every day,” Bowden said. “My dad never fails to put a smile on my face. They genuinely make me the happiest kid, and I’m grateful for everything that they do for me.”
Freshman Warren Eacret is thankful for his boys’ soccer coach, Kurt Griffis.
“Coach Griffis has made me strive to be better and put the work in,” Eacret said. “Without him I wouldn’t have come as far as I have now. I keep his words to work harder when it comes to other things besides soccer, too, like school.”
For sophomore Izzy Joslin, her Aunt Mary and Uncle Gary are what she is most thankful for.
“I’ve been in and out of the foster care system, so they took me and my sister in and gave us a better life,” Joslin said. “They try their hardest, and I know it must be a lot for them.”
Even though her sister Alyssa is off at Purdue University, junior Rebekah Thorpe is grateful for her and all the memories they have together.
“We grew up together and I couldn’t imagine my life without her,” Thorpe said. “I’m most thankful for the car rides we have with each other. Even though she’s not the best driver, I would drive anywhere with her.”
The first person who pops into freshman Rose Taylor’s mind is her dad, who passed away last year. Taylor learned many things from him and believes she is a stronger person because of him and basketball.
“I think basketball helped me a lot and he’s the one who introduced me to basketball,” Taylor said. “He showed me how to play, and I feel like basketball means more to me than just a sport and I’ll carry that with me my whole life. I was actually playing basketball when he passed away, but I quit so I could keep it in memory of him. I didn’t want to play without him.”
When it comes to being thankful, Delta students have many, many stories, and they’re all waiting to be shared and heard.
