Recently my husband, 5-month-old daughter and I traveled from Florida to celebrate the academic accomplishments of my siblings, Kayci and Kolby Clouse, as they graduated from Butler High School. We entered the sauna of a gymnasium with feelings of excitement, pride and a bit of nostalgia — exactly 15 years earlier, I was among that sea of graduates while Kolby and Kayci were watching on from nearly the exact spot on the bleachers.

As the announcement of each graduate’s name came to an end, to our dismay, we realized that Kayci was never recognized. As student council president for the past two years, she has gone above and beyond to create memorable experiences for her peers, often arriving before school and staying after and even volunteering her weekends, all the while expecting nothing in return. When I envisioned celebrating Kayci and her many achievements, I expected lots of hugs and tears of joy. I was crushed to see the night end with her holding back tears of disappointment and that contagious smile.

We realized later that Kayci wasn’t the only student omitted. Noah Reed, the singer who led the national anthem and alma mater; and Dylan Rundle, class treasurer were not recognized.

Shockingly, Kayci, Noah and Dylan were three of the 12 graduates sitting on stage with the administrators.

Since Tuesday evening, Kayci has received genuine apologies, an explanation for why her name was omitted and plans to ensure this never happens again by Principal John Wyllie, Assistant Principal Doug Ford and school board President Nina Teff.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t resolve the failure of public recognition that these three graduates deserve. We therefore have created an e-mail address — congrats.you.three@gmail.com — that is being monitored by Kayci, Noah and Dylan. If you would like to pass along your congratulations and well wishes to these students with bright futures, I’m sure it would mean the world to them. While we can’t undo what happened, we can still send these students on to their next life adventures with the celebratory recognition they earned for their 13 years of hard work and dedication.