To continue with tradition, the Growler and Aztec class of 2020 staff members wrote a final farewell to Bowie. Here are their parting words for their high school.

I would like to say thank you for everything that I know and what I am going to accomplish. I achieved all this with the help of all my teachers but especially Mr. Flores. He always was there for me and he always helped me in everything. I will also miss all my friends who were not in my grade. I will never forget the good moments that I had at Bowie no matter what. A lot of people say that Bowie student don’t do anything good in life but with this generation, we will and we will demonstrate that  by leaving bowie on top of all the other schools. Like we always say, ONCE A BEAR, ALWAYS A BEAR.

– Wendy Hernandez

For as long as I can remember, I looked forward to attending high school and finally being able to experience the tradition before the real-life experience. It is now that I realize how important and impactful high school can be, especially one as culturally rich, unified and proud as Bowie High School. This campus is so full of life and diversity that I was instantly transported to another world when I first enrolled. I’ve made so many close friends and even family from the students and staff, teachers who are wise mentors, administrators who keep us safe, and of my peers who are always unified and willing to lend a hand to whoever needs it. One main aspect I will miss about Bowie High School and my high school experience is relaxing and socializing at lunch with my close friends in the beautiful natural landscape of the school. I have a lot of memories in this campus, from the old baseball field to the cafeteria to the band room to the theater stage to the culinary kitchen to the pit, which we would get pumped up for at a pep rally and all of them showed me true pride, loyalty and fun. I will especially miss the teachers who helped me personally and more along the journey of graduating: Mr. Prior, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Vega, Mr. Nail, Mrs. Garcia and all my other teachers have really shown me what it takes to be a successful and genuine person. I strive to become an incredible artist with the ability to positively and efficiently influence others to make a real impact in this world and give hopefully inspire people to get a voice of their own. I humbly and gratefully say farewell to Bowie High School, I will never forget the memories and acquaintances that I made here, I guarantee that I will be back to help out as much as I can with the next generations of Bowie bears and as always…Once a Bear, Always a Bear! Viva La Bowie!

– Mark Coria

There are various things that I am going to miss about Bowie. The first thing that I am going to miss is me experiencing my best year throughout my high school career, which is my junior year. This is due to the fact that I was able to strive in Dual Credit classes because three individuals have supported me to do well at school, but the three people that left Bowie in a gradual time between my junior through my senior years of high school. My favorite memory is getting a 99 in a 8-10 essay in English Dual Credit class. The one thing that I am going to miss about Bowie as an educational institution is being able to feel comfortable that I am able to fully develop my identity within a homogeneous setting with Latino students, which I am not able to do at other schools. Lastly, I am going to miss two people that I consider as my only friends to the point of calling them my best friends, which are Juan Dominguez and Fernanda Ortiz.

– Job Armengol

One of the main things I will miss about Bowie will be the amazing new friendships I made, and the old friendships I have. These four years really made me grow as an individual and get prepared for what is waiting for me in the future. I will miss all my teachers especially the ones I have the closest bonds with, for example Ms. Torres, who has been preparing me on how to get ready for college and for a job. I’ve made a lot of great memories along with my friends through my four years in high school. We went to all events together, every game together, and we would go out and eat together. I couldn’t be more honored than to graduate with with my best friends along with the class of 2020!

– Jennifer Becerra

Something I’m going to miss about Bowie is that it gives you the opportunity to try new things, and that helps a lot to find out who you really are as a person. Something else I’m going to miss is that the school is so proud to be Mexican and the traditions it has. The truth is that I’m not going to miss something specifically from my friends, but I am super sad because I didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to them and I may not see the majority of them anymore or for a long time. I love all my teachers, they form a big part of my life. What I really like from them is that we could talk to them like we were friends not just student and teacher. I really appreciate the interest they show when you need help with something that doesn’t really have to deal with school. I can’t really choose a favorite memory from my high school years because all years were different and each year tells a different story. I had good and bad experiences that I really appreciate because those things have been changing me from freshman year until now. But the memory I will never forget are those few friends that stayed with me from the beginning until the end. I’m really thankful with them for that.

– Irvin Duran

After my four years attending Bowie High School, I will definitely miss it. This school was not only special to me because of my friends but because it is totally different from any other school. The people you meet here are extremely friendly and pretty unique because they all have a different style of living. I will surely miss the late practices we had in football, getting out of the locker room being beat due to practice. That feeling was so unique and it was incomparable to any other feeling I have felt before. Bowie not only has unique students but as well teachers. The teachers were able to build a connection with you because they knew your roots and they have been in your shoes before. They made their classroom feel so friendly and a comfortable zone to learn and not be judged. I will miss hanging out with my friends at lunch and being able to play football and having a good time, which I know those memories will always stick with me. Nonetheless, Bowie did give me the best memories; a huge chunk of them came from playing football on Friday nights. My favorite memory was when we played Hanks High School on our home field. Seeing the stadium filled with people cheering us on, hearing the band play and the lights on me was absolutely the best feeling I have ever had. Those memories will never be forgotten because they are amazing thanks to my friends and the family that I had built at Bowie High School.

– Joel Cano

Dear Bowie,

Being a part of a journey by your side has taught me many lessons and stood by my side there four years. I will miss every good and bad moment because I will never have any experience like this again. My friends and even people that would just take their time to smile at me in the hallways I will miss you guys. The teachers could have been strict and mean at times, but they helped me be the person I have become now and lead me to a new journey that I will initiate soon. I will always thank Coach Herrera, who gave me the opportunity to become part of the soccer team. He always pressured me to do what I am really capable of and believing in me. Being part of the team gave me so many fun and unforgettable moments beside my teammates who became more than that to me. So long high school, I will miss you and your lessons you brought for me.

– Natalie Flores

Dear Bowie,

Thank you to all my teachers, friends, and enemies since my freshman year to my senior year. Throughout these four years at Bowie, I met some really nice people that I know that they are going to stay with me for a long time. I also met people who were just like “hello, bye” but I’m thankful for all of them, too. Teachers like Mr. Gomez, Coach Flores, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Barragan, taught me a lot of great lessons that I’m going to put in action in my life, I’ll never forget about the “cheat sheets” “Venga canijos” “May I have your undivided attention please” you teachers were great mentors and I’m grateful with you and for all the memories these four years. So long high school! You had plenty of lessons to teach me. Needless to say, I enjoyed some more than others, but, in the end, it was a heck of a journey with many ups and downs and I am just glad to have gotten through them. (I hope college is better!)

– Raul Carrillo

My time at Bowie was without a doubt a journey full of incredible people, especially this year. I will miss my schedule and having the opportunity to go and say “Hello” to my favorite teachers. I will miss the tables outside because it was a great place to eat breakfast, and I will miss walking through the hallways or even going to the gym, those days where I used to play basketball or practice wrestling and the chance to be silly with my teammates. I will miss the teachers I used to speak with or the ones I used to  listen when they told us interesting stories. Even though I will miss them all, some left us earlier and I started missing them since last semester. I will treasure in my heart all the great and fun moments I got to live in any of my classes, from the times the teachers brought us doughnuts to when we had free time on finals to watch movies or play games. I will always remember with so much love my friends and the playful moments I had with them. I feel in wrestling that I learned one of the most important things: I am capable of learning and doing anything I want to achieve, all I have to do is overcome fear. I feel overwhelmed because a journey of many years has come to an end, but I’ll leave thankful. As they say, this is not a goodbye but a see you later. 

– Giselle Cano

Ever since I was little, my dream was to come to Bowie like my parents did before me. I started high school at Americas, and I was so pissed off at my parents because they knew that my dream was to go to Bowie and be able to play basketball. The only thing was that I lived so far away from Bowie. Then one day, my dream came true and I transferred to Bowie in the middle of my freshman year. From that day on, I knew my Bowie career started and I don’t regret transferring to Bowie. Bowie has taught me a lot of things. The No. 1 thing it taught me was family, that everybody is family and that is what I love about Bowie. Every year was a good year at Bowie from day one. As a freshman, you see the seniors every year celebrate their class, but then you say senior year is going to be the year. Well, not everything went as planned for me. As a senior, I lost my father in December. Knowing that he won’t be with me on graduation breaks my heart,  but thanks to all my teachers, family, and friends I was able to get through the tough situation. I mourn every day for my father, there is not a day that I’m not thinking of him, but I use my father’s death as motivation to finish school and finish what he wanted me to finish, and I now look up to him as my guidance in life. Then, after my father’s death Coronavirus hit the country and ruined the rest of my senior year. No prom, and maybe no graduation. Knowing that the last day before going into spring break was my last day breaks my heart because I never got to say goodbye to my friends and my teachers. Although this happened, I still remain positive and I hope we get our graduation. Nobody deserves a virtual graduation or a drive-by graduation. No matter what, I would just like to thank Bowie for everything it has done for me for the past four years. I love Bowie no matter what and once a bear, always a bear. Thank you. 

– Daniel Lopez, Jr.

The thing I will miss the most about Bowie, is my friends I made. I came to Bowie not knowing anyone because most of my middle school friends went to Jefferson, so I didn’t have any friends at Bowie. I made many friends throughout these four years that I’ve made so many memories with. My favorite memory was from the time when I was in mariachi, I got to hang out with my friends thanks to mariachi because we were always performing and traveling and they were some of the best times I’ve ever had. One of my favorite memories with Mr. Rios was preparing for my solo. He helped me a lot during those practices and I learned so much from him. Another great memory with a teacher was with Mr. Nail, he has always been very supportive of us and always wanted us to do the best we could. I learned a lot from Mr. Nail, not just about writing but also about college life. I will always be grateful for the opportunities I have received from Bowie, and I am now ready to move to next step in becoming a successful individual. 

– Hector Montes

Being a Bowie Bear has been one of the best experiences in my life, I’m very thankful for all the four years I got to spend here and grow as person. The best part of Bowie was all the teachers I had and all the friendships I got to build here. Ever since freshman year, my teachers were there for me and all the way up to my senior year, and for that I will always be thankful for. The best part of high school is all the friendship I had and how for lunch we would meet up in the pit and go out for lunch to get burritos. Lastly, I will miss the culture at Bowie and how everybody is so close to one another and how we always help each other out no matter what. Good bye Bowie, and as we always say: once a bear, always a bear.

– Briana Guzman

It’s been a journey full of adventures, stress, and happiness throughout my four years of high school. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to meet teachers and coaches who will always be there through thick and thin, and will always encourage their students to do the best they can. I’ve always been waiting for this moment to be able to graduate high school as a Bowie Bear, just like my brothers, uncles, and cousins have. Now that it’s time to leave, I feel a little nostalgic but I know that our hearts will still remain. Thinking about the significant things that I took for granted such as eating and spending time with my friends, staying after school to finish work, doing projects, and even waking up at six in the morning or staying until six in the afternoon for practice makes me sentimental because I know I won’t be able to experience those things anymore. Now it’s time to go out into the real world and experience new things. I will cherish those happy and sad memories that shaped me into the person I am now and work harder to achieve my dreams.

– Jazmin Contreras

To my four years of high school, I have had some of the best days. It has been full of unforgettable moments and I know that I will always have those moments in my heart as I grow. I will miss hanging out with my friends almost everyday at lunch and how loud and hard I laughed most of the time with my friends and even with my teachers. I thank and appreciate the many things and life lessons my teachers taught me. One of my favorite memories will be whenever I was in cheerleading and we had pep rallies, I really enjoyed performing, cheering and yelling. Another of my favorite memories would be when we had the senior walk. I remember seeing my friends around me laughing and jumping. I really enjoyed the positive vibes we all had. I will always remember the little things I did in high school with my friends and teachers.

– Maleny Barba

I’m not really great at writing goodbye letters or even saying goodbye but it’s worth my shot. Overall, high school has been the craziest roller coaster I’ve ever been on. There are so many memories that if I mentioned every single one, I wouldn’t finish. One thing I’m really sure of is that during high school, I have gotten to know who my real friends are but most importantly, who I am. I’m really thankful for my teachers for believing in me whenever I was doubting myself, especially Mr. Rodriguez. He has been my moral support since my freshman year, which was the toughest year for me since it was my most vulnerable time. He has really been there for me through that time. I will always be grateful for Mr. Rodriguez because of him, I’m the better version of myself. I’ve gone through many broken friendships in the past four years of high school, and because of those people I’m grateful that they got to be with me from time to time and I’ll always remember those beautiful memories together. I’m also grateful I got to do many activities like Blue balloon release, Day of the Dead, Halloween, Project 22, Thanksgiving reunion, Christmas reunion, those are the memories I will always have in my heart not only because they are beautiful memories, but because I got to spend it with the most amazing and genuine people I have ever met. They are the reasons why I always try to be my best version. That little group has been with me throughout my whole life and seeing that maybe this could be the last moments of our journey does make me sad, but I’m grateful that I got to spend each day, month, year with each and everyone of them.

– Jackie Urrutia