Minneapolis seniors celebrate graduation after high school years marked by disruptions

The energy in the arena hardly died down during the hours-long commencement ceremony for Minneapolis South High School's 2022 graduates. After the teens threw their caps — many decorated with flowers, sequins, feathers and even Legos — the festivities spilled outside, where the lawn was already littered with flower petals and a few deflated balloons left by families of Southwest High seniors, who had their graduation earlier in the day.

The city's graduates are celebrating this week. But the school year isn't officially over until June 24, a full two weeks after seniors turn their tassels, to make up for the school days missed during the teachers strike.

The unusual and, in some cases confusing, end to the year seems oddly fitting for the city's 2022 grads: They are the class that had just one "normal" school year without COVID-19 disruptions. Their sophomore year was also marked by the murder of George Floyd and civil unrest, and their senior year included the city's first teachers strike in 50 years.

"These past four years have been full of so many obstacles, so much uncertainty," said Mary Ghebremeskal, a graduate heading to Yale to study global affairs. "People call us the COVID class, but we experienced so much more than that."

That's all the more reason to celebrate reaching the finish line, Ghebremeskal told the more than 400 other graduates at the Wednesday ceremony, though it wasn't just the teenagers reveling in reaching the end of a turbulent four years.

"I'm just so happy he made it through," said Monique Gill, mother of graduate Christopher Gill. "After all the trials and tribulations of the last four years, I'm extra proud."

Gill, a single mother of five, remembers calling Christopher from her job to make sure he was logged on for distance learning during his sophomore and junior year.

"It was a lot to go through as a parent, too," she said as she snapped photos of her son in his cap and gown. "So it feels really good to be here."

For Andrew Amaya, throwing his cap up in the air felt like "popping a balloon."

"I could finally let go of the stress and worry," he said. "I've been waiting for that moment for a long time."

His four years of high school looked much different from what Amaya envisioned. Distance learning even shifted the social dynamics in the school, he said, and friend groups changed after so many months without the camaraderie of being together in classrooms and hallways.

"But at the end of the day, we all got to celebrate together," he said. "That feels pretty good."

Zoey Bruffett felt nervous all day before the ceremony and worried she'd trip as she walked across the stage. (She didn't.)

"It's was a big moment," said Bruffett, who is headed to the University of Minnesota to pursue a degree in Native American studies. "I have many friends who didn't get to graduate with me because they fell behind [during distance learning]."

As the teens from South High filed out of the arena, many wiped tears and exchanged hugs. Bruffett, however, knew she'd see some of her peers the following morning in class. Although she was excused from attending class for the last two weeks, she still planned to finish out this week.

"It sucks to have to wake up at 7 a.m. right after graduation," she said. But it means she'll get more time to say farewell.

Kacionna Abraham is confident that she'll miss the friends and teachers she met over the last four years. But crossing the stage was her finale, she said. She turned in all of her assignments by the end of May and isn't planning to return to school this week or for the two extra weeks.

Seniors with all their completed credits aren't scheduled to return to class, said South High's Interim Principal Michael Luseni.

"Oh yeah, I'm done," Abraham said Wednesday night, adding that senior classrooms have been mostly empty since the beginning of June. "I feel like a free bird. Now I can start chasing what I want to do."