Like many schools across the world, Somerset had to look this year in the face, pivot, and do something great or… quit.  The staff and students at this school chose to make the quiet halls canvases and turn selfies and candids into a yearbook.

It was not easy.  In fact, it has turned out to be one of the hardest years ever for those who strive to succeed.

The WSAC media teacher grew up in southern Germany, an area known for its majestic alps.  In those alps is a flower seldom seen in the wild.  Edelweiss is a unique flower, unlike any other in the world.  It is small with white, velvety petals that peek through the rocks and grasses on the sides of these great mountains. The climb up the mountain is steep and tiring.  But one glimpse of the flower and you realize why it became the subject of a national song.

When she was in 8th grade, Mrs. Horsley was climbing a mountain in Garmisch when her older brother came across wild edelweiss.  Taking a shortcut to find him on the rocky outcropping, she slipped.  She slid down the surface of the mountain toward a 100 foot drop.  As her arm caught in the root of a tree, she felt the sharp pain of her arm braking under the pressure.  As she hung there, her pain coursing through her  ribs and arm, she could only think of how she had fallen short of her goal.  It was a once in a lifetime moment and she fell mere feet from seeing her prize.

To help you up this last peak, the WSAC team, in partnership with the TV Production classes, have put together a video to highlight SAC and all the school has to offer. This year has been so much like that day in Garmisch – precarious and frightening.  Yet, we are all mere steps from the prize.  But unlike an excited, 8th grade, Mrs. Horsley, we must keep our steps sure and our gaze fixed on our destination. The view will be like none other, and when those who make it to the end look back, they will see that it was worth the climb.