Minnesota's students have navigated particularly turbulent waters in school and in life over the last year. They've worked through abrupt pivots to distance learning as the winter pandemic wave left schools short-staffed. And they've pushed through a sometimes rocky return to the classroom, with concerns about their mental health on the rise.
Many have taken to the streets to demonstrate against racism in the ongoing reckoning after George Floyd's murder and gun violence as shooting after shooting claimed young lives in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Yet students have found so many moments worth celebrating, too, since classes started in September. From their accomplishments in the classroom to newfound friendships to personal milestones they hold dear.
Sometimes, it's as simple as a hug, a treasured bicycle, a reignited love of language.
As students look toward summer, here are some of the best things that happened this school year, according to a few of them.
A hug-filled return
Sheng Vang still remembers that first hug she got from a friend after stepping off the bus in early September. The Cooper High School junior hadn't set foot on the New Hope campus in 18 months.
Vang, 16, spent her entire sophomore year learning virtually. While she understood her parents' hesitation to send her back to Cooper during the pandemic's worst stages, Vang missed being in the classroom, particularly during electives.