Ross was never far from his mom. On Wednesday nights, Michele would drop off her fifth grade son, tired from basketball practice, to our intimate class. It was here, amongst his peers and teacher, that he found comfort to express himself through writing.

We remember his fascinating essays about topics such as meeting a surly NBA player in the halls of his school and dissecting a wriggling frog in the height of summer. At times, he would give in to his pre-teen angst and vent about his workload at school and lack of freedom. Though raw at the beginning, his writing evolved into a fine-tuned skill that helped him excel in school.

Through it all, his mom was a constant, supporting Ross through a shaky middle school start and a pandemic-tainted freshman year. The problem is, sometimes, or most of the time, teenagers crave independence. And it usually comes at the cost of a strained relationship with their parents.

Despite these challenges, Ross rose above it all and is now headed for Vanderbilt University. His mom tells us that we’re “the main reason he’s a great writer.” We’d like to reply by saying that Ross’s success stems from the love and nourishment that only a mom can provide.

We know that Ross appreciates his mom because of all his essays about her goodness, generosity, and grit. These days, most graduating seniors choose to pepper their yearbook senior pages with pictures of friends, fads, and phones. Not Ross. He instead paid tribute to someone far more important…