AURORA, Colo. — In his 25 years at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, counseling coordinator Bob Kennedy has seen plenty of teens with talent come through the school.
Years after their graduations, quite a few of those young people have made it to the national spotlight in sports, music and entertainment.
"I just fell in love with the personalities here," Kennedy said. "We were sort of that, I don’t know, the school from the other side of the tracks in some ways, because we didn’t get all the attention maybe that [Cherry] Creek got."
Adrian Holguin, a math teacher and leader of the school's comedy improv troupe, Spontaneous Combustion, is also acquainted with the school's star power.
"I was Bowen Yang’s calculus teacher and I was his director for Spontaneous Combustion, the first comedy group he was ever in," Holguin said. "So I just knew Bowen back in the day. And still to this day."
Holguin still keeps in touch with the Saturday Night Live star.
"Dan Soder who was one of my students as well, who is a standup comedian and some acting," Kennedy said.
And there was Soder's best friend, now the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
"I remember Mike McDaniel coming back from -- he was at Yale," Kennedy said. "And he was getting a transfer for grad school. I said 'Mike, what's your next move?' And he said, 'Well, I'm going to probably end up coaching in the NFL after I finish grad school.'"
He's not the only Smoky Hill grad to find success in the sports world. Kennedy remembers Jenny Cavnar coming into his office frequently to talk about her future plans.
"She always called me Kennedy -- 'Kennedy, I figured out what I'm going to do.' I said, 'What's that?' And she's like, 'I want to do like they do on ESPN.'" he recalled. "And that's kinda how she said it. And I go, 'Like a reporter? Like a sports reporter?' She's like, 'Yeah. That's what I want to do.'"
The list of boldfaced names is long.
"Mark Shusterman, he's one of the Night Sweats, he was also in Spontaneous Combustion," Holguin said.
"When the Night Sweats performed at SNL, him and Bowen sent us a picture of two Smoky Hill grads onstage at SNL in the same night, which was pretty awesome," he said.
As teachers, counselors and coaches, they see kids who dare to try.
"I think of that, kind of that wide-eyed, just like anything's possible kind of kid," Kennedy said. "They don't understand 'no' because they keep moving."
"You don't want to be that person that shatters a dream, because how do we know?" he said. "You just never know. You want them to keep that optimism."
At Smoky Hill, they appreciate authenticity and acknowledge big talent.
"You've got to be careful that you don't collect trophies because Bowen did all of that stuff on his own, but it's nice to have been in a place where you can help maybe foster that," Holguin said.
They encourage, believe, and then just wait to be surprised.
"It will be interesting to see - I kind of wonder who's the next one to come out of Smoky Hill?" Holguin said. "We see all sorts of potentials popping around in here."
"There's even kids right now that I'm working with, that I wouldn't be surprised if they are the next person in the spotlight 10, 15 years from now," Kennedy said.
From February 2024: Jenny Cavnar is ready to make MLB history
From February 2022: New Dolphins HC McDaniel also excelled off the field, Smoky Hill counselor says
From October 2020: 'Saturday Night Live' cast member from Aurora says his passion for comedy started in high school
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