Over the years, many students have come and gone from Blue Valley. At the beginning of the year, seniors Elodie Ruff and Acy VanRheen have transferred here from Kansas City Christian School (KCC) and Mill Valley, respectively.

Ruff said her transfer from KCC for her senior year was an impactful change. Ruff cited the long 30-minute commute to and from school there and the high costs of KCC, as reasons for the move.

“The senior graduating class my freshman year was six girls,” Ruff said.

Ruff was seeking a more diverse environment.

“You only have so many choices for who you get to be around, and you only have so many different types of people modeled for you,” Ruff said. “That’s something that I enjoy about Blue Valley — there are so many different types of people and so many new people you get to meet. There’s no way that you could ever know everyone.”

Ruff said she enjoys the smaller class sizes at BV, which offers more of a social mixture. She attends three classes total and would not be able to have the flexibility of attending fewer classes daily if she were at KCC.

Ruff said she felt like her previous school “drew in a certain type of people.”

“I wasn’t really sure if that was who I necessarily identified with the most,” she said.

As scary as it sounds, coming to BV, Ruff knew no one in her grade.

Ruff reflects on her senior year, expressing appreciation for the “kindness and inclusivity shown by the students despite being new.”

VanRheen came to BV during the summer of his senior year to pursue his baseball skills further and join the Fire Science career-ready program.

VanRheen said he felt welcomed in and appreciated the team bonding that he has experienced already, despite only being here for nine months.

“When I first came during football, Coach Terrell put me in a group of friends, so I already had some people before school started,” he said.