When Finn Richter walks across the stage to get his high school diploma this week, he will accomplish a goal that many people — including Finn himself — once worried he might never achieve.
“There was a time I debated giving up and getting my GED. I felt like whatever I did, I couldn’t get it right,” Finn recalls. “You have to be super determined and push yourself forward, really apply yourself.”
A Turning Point Toward a New Path
About halfway through high school, Finn decided to transfer to Ferguson High School. Suddenly, after several years of turmoil at school, including substance abuse issues and barely attending most days, Finn realized he could do better — and that he would have to if he wanted to take advantage of the opportunities Ferguson offered.
“I had to snap out of it,” Finn says. “This is my future we’re talking about.”
It took a complete change in his mindset for Finn to change his actions, and he shares his experience and advice with others who might be struggling with school and other challenges. One of the key pieces of success, Finn says, is building connections with others.
“Keep pushing. You’re not invisible,” he says. “You need to stay true to yourself, no matter who has an opinion on it. Be friends with people who make you happy. Be a nice person. Be a kind person. You can never know what other people are going through. You have the ability to do the right stuff.”
For Finn, that meant showing up, communicating with his teachers, and, slowly but surely, watching his grades start to rise. He focused more on his academics, while also maintaining his position playing trumpet in the marching band at Loveland High, something he had always been passionate about, and working several days a week at a restaurant.
“It felt very strange to go from failing all of my classes freshman year to passing every single class with at least a B,” Finn says, but added that when he set his mind to improving and being present, it was much easier to find success — even when it meant balancing his classes at Ferguson with the intense band practices at LHS.
Finn Richter Turns Dedication into Opportunity
That dedication allowed him to attend the band’s trip to Disney World in Florida this spring, where over 70 LHS marching band members performed and enjoyed the park. For Finn, that was a reward for sticking with something that meant a lot to him.
“I’ve been making music for about seven years,” Finn says. “I love playing music, listening to music. It makes me feel calm when I’m mad. All the time, whenever I get the opportunity, music is going into my ears.”
Finn also loves doing hands-on work and is a talented welder. He will finish high school with a welding certification, and hopes to travel around the United States doing pipe welding. His ultimate goal is to go to Seattle and learn to do underwater welding. However, all of that comes after the ceremony, which for Finn is an important symbol of the many challenges he has overcome.
“It’s the coolest thing ever to me, how we as kids grew up into adults,” Finn says. “We’ve worked so hard to hold that piece of paper in our hands. We have the determination to do those things, and we are capable of being smart and being the right people for the world to make the world a better place.”
Portrait of a Graduate
Communicator
Adapts communication style to the audience
