• Dynamic duo

They’ve read the same books, learned the same lessons, and matched each other perfect grade for perfect grade since kindergarten, so it’s not that surprising that Goessel High School fast friends and co-valedictorians Hailey Rosfeld and Aida Hartvickson will stand at the graduation podium with a speech they wrote together and deliver in turns.

They even asked to do their interview with the Record together, finishing one another’s sentences and stifling inside-joke giggles.

Though both had 4.0 GPAs through high school, only one could be the school’s Governor’s Scholar.That’s Hailey. While both are headed to college, only one will leave the county in the fall. That’s Aida, who is headed to the University of Kansas honors program, possibly after a gap year in Paris nannying at a Mennonite missionary center.

“This year, the majority of our day is together sitting on the same couch,” Hailey said, Aida finishing the sentence, “because we’re taking college classes” remotely on laptops.

Though they’ve traveled the same path, they’ve had very unique experiences in school.

Hailey, who is staying to attend Tabor College, was involved in yearbook for three years and discovered that photography and graphic design allows her to “express my creativity, making things look however I want.”

She was surprised it could actually be a career.

“Ultimately, I want to have my own photography business,” she said, hoping that a major in graphic design will get her there. She’s also double-majoring in sports management as a fallback, having been very active in Bluebird volleyball, basketball, and track.

Aida describes proud high school moments largely in terms of group achievements, like leading the cheer team and being in the cast of “The Little Mermaid” as Flounder.

Her  life goals are amorphous as she looks to discover a career path.  Travel is one way she wants to learn, and at college, she said, “I’m interested in English, possibly with a concentration in creative writing, and psychology because  I can do a lot of that as I learn more about myself and my interests.”

Asked what their biggest challenges were, the two cast knowing glances at each other. There just haven’t been dramatic academic hurdles for the two, both of whom have perfect 4.0 GPAs.

Hailey nudges her friend to share a tragedy that reverberated through the whole community: A lightning strike burned Aida’s farmhouse to the ground the year before she started high school.

“We  lost everything really quickly,” Aida said. “Going into freshman year was difficult because I was still living in a house that wasn’t my own. It’s hard, but looking back on it, I definitely think I am a different person than I would have been if it hadn’t happened, and a stronger person.”

“Even though that wasn’t me,” Hailey said, “ I remember hearing it, and it was shocking.”

But it also pulled people together in gratitude. The family was safe because no one was home at the time.

A small but vividly glowing painting of the fire that Aida created from photos is displayed in a high school hallway.

The duo’s paths will finally diverge with graduation, but their friendship, they’ve promised, is going nowhere.