Each spring, high school commencement speakers take on the responsibility of addressing their fellow graduates with words meant to energize and motivate.
This year, they faced a particularly daunting challenge. How do you sum up a year unlike any other? How do you inspire students who have been stuck at home for over a year?
While commencements in the Baltimore area were in person this year, the events still bore the markers of a global pandemic – masks, social distancing, family members watching the livestream from home.
For many Baltimore students, the pandemic created a tumultuous high school experience. It added more stressors and increased anxiety and distractions. But it also offered lessons in focus, resilience, and perseverance.
In commencement speeches throughout the region, students reflected on the pandemic and offered a new perspective. To shed light on what it was like to graduate during a global crisis, we combed through their oratory. Here are excerpts from 10 area students, addressing the challenges of their senior year:
Janae Young, Baltimore School for the Arts
“As artists, we have all heard the phrase “the show must go on.” And I think you will agree that there is no more obvious example of this phrase than the last 15 months of our lives. This entire year, our show persisted, even though we had every reason to want to walk away. In spite of this disconnect, we rehearsed dances over a computer screen and sang in a chorus all alone. We still managed to put together various music and dance recitals, fall and spring plays, film screenings, and art exhibitions. We balanced AP tests and 20 page papers. We applied to colleges, maintained jobs and friendships, and most of all, completed high school.”
Camryn Johnson, Hammond High School
“This year’s unique situation allowed us to remember, cherish, and think fondly upon our regular high school experiences. Experiences that, at one time, we took for granted and thought of as forgettable…We’ve gained such an appreciation for normal parts of life. We have learned that our most treasured experiences will be the forgettable days where we were surrounded by unforgettable people.”
Clair Sullivan, Howard High School
“After we all went into lockdown, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in missing my friends and family. It wasn’t until we couldn’t see our loved ones that we truly learned the value of our time with them. Longing to see the face of our friends and family, we found ways to spend time together in this strange virtual world. Even though this isn’t the senior year we initially dreamed it would be, we still made it to our awaited finish line, and that’s something worth being proud of.”
Sydney Howard, New Town High School
“Before I get started on some cliche speech on why it is important to go after what you want, there are a few people I would like to thank on behalf of the class. First, I would like to thank teachers and administration for logging on every day to talk to dots with initials, and sometimes talk to no one at all. We complained a lot, but we understand it was just as hard on you as it was on us. I would also like to thank our parents, who took on a teacher role this year. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to navigate this unprecedented time and you were all pivotal in our future success. Next, I think it is important that we thank ourselves. There were times we wanted school to finish itself and didn’t care whether we made it to the end or not, but we did it, we’re at the end.”
Amira Oladokun, Owings Mill High School
“These past four years have been decidedly difficult. I mean, it was extremely hard trying to fall back asleep after rolling out of bed, turning on our computers, and straining our fingers to type in the meet code and say “good morning” in the chat. It was frustrating dealing with the computer issues that would happen every day without warning. Having your computer not work was the equivalent to being thrown out of orbit. Missing a few days of class felt like falling down the stairs on your first day of freshman year. But the fact that we are here today in our caps and gowns is proof that no matter how hard things got, we were able to succeed.”
Alexander Yelovich, Parkville High School
“Virtual learning has forced us students to adopt a more independent approach to school. We no longer had the uniformity of in person schooling to guide us. We were responsible for staying on top of our work and attending our classes and club meetings on time. I think this year, more than others, showcased the importance of focus…So long as we can control what distracts us, we have the ability to pursue our interests and accomplish great things.”
Trinity Joseph, Patapsco High School
“I couldn’t help but hear that this year has been unprecedented. Well, yes, our year has been different than most. We had to quickly change the ways in which we learn, communicate with each other, and socialize with one another. This shouldn’t discourage us, though. There’s going to be plenty of changes from this point forward, but we’ve already adapted to one of the biggest ones yet. We shouldn’t be scared of change. It’s just one of the steps in which we evolve to help ourselves, our community, and our society as a whole.”
Anastasia Kristene Salem, Reservoir High School
“Friday, March 13th was our last normal day of high school. We said our goodbyes, going around saying “see you in two weeks.” Yet, little did we know, this break would persist until our last days of high school. As that spring break continued, I was at home with little outside interaction. I began to do the one thing I thought I would never do: miss school. I missed waking up and feeling like I had something to do and somewhere to go. I missed walking around and seeing my peers, even though most of the time they couldn’t even hear me with their headphones blaring. I missed my teachers lifting me up and encouraging me to work to my fullest potential. But most of all, I missed all of you. Seeing the many faces that made Reservoir high school the diverse and enthusiastic school that we are.”
Moughil Nandakumar, River Hill High School
“We can look at the pandemic and how it has affected our high school years negatively. But we could also look at it in another light. We faced a pandemic at this magnitude this early on in our lives. When we overcome this, we will be ready for just about anything. All adversity that we face will only make us stronger.”
Alice Kerns, Towson High School
“I’m not going to pretend that a senior year in the middle of a pandemic was an ideal way to end our high school careers, but I will speak to what I believe we gained this year. We gained perseverance, joining virtual classes every day, having to manage our own time, giving up sports, clubs, and activities, making major life decisions by the light of our computer screens. When the world stopped, we continued. We gained independence, separated from classmates, friends, teachers, and counselors. We gained self reliance, taking charge of our own lives and our own destinies. We gained creativity, navigating an ever changing world, speaking our minds, and uncovering new ways to stay connected. And, most importantly, we gained joy in the little things.”
