On June 4, at 7:00 PM, the Houston High School Class of 2021 processed into the high school gym for their graduation ceremony. Just one month prior to this, the class was not sure what their graduation ceremony would look like: a drive-in style like last year’s class had, an outdoor ceremony on the football field, or a more traditional ceremony inside the gym with social distancing, capacity limits and masks. As COVID regulations eased, the plans for graduation adapted to the freer guidelines until most regulations were lifted and the ceremony could look very similar to graduations pre-pandemic.
At 6:00 PM that evening, those students who were going to graduate with honors had the traditional cording ceremony in the cafeteria. By 7:00 the gym was almost full with family and friends of the graduates eager to see them walk across the stage to get their diplomas. Since restrictions had been lifted, the choir and band could both perform in the gym. Many in attendance expressed how nice it was to hear live music again and be able to see the students playing and singing.
Emma Forsyth, Salutatorian, welcomed the crowd and set the joyful, celebratory tone for the evening. Allison Papenfuss as Valedictorian delivered a thoughtful address, continuing the grateful and appropriately jovial tone set by Emma. The final student speaker was Ava Schroeder as Class President, who delivered her remarks with a flare, even getting the whole class to chant with her. It was a night that showcased the hard work and talents of the Class of 2021. The class ended the ceremony with the traditional cap toss, as shown in the photo. Now the students are graduates and alumni of Houston High School and they, too, can say, “Once a Hurricane, always a Hurricane!”