Tears, diplomas, and graduation caps are a common sights around the school this time of the year. The graduating Class of 2021 has had to endure many hardships with the COVID-19 pandemic coming through and bulldozing a year and a half of their high school career. Despite all of this adversity, this year’s graduating class has impacted MCHS in so many ways. 

“It is very bittersweet,” says Leah Pelletier, a science teacher at East Campus. “I am sad to see them go. I feel like the time we had was cut short unfairly and they missed out on so much of the fun parts of high school. However, I am so excited to see what life has in store for them in their bright futures.”  

Seeing seniors move on from MCHS is always difficult, especially for the students and teachers who have been affected most by them, whether through friendships formed between students in two different grades or bonding over a shared love of theatre. 

“Some of my favorite memories of the Class of 2021 are from the pep rally assemblies,” says McKenna Keegan, a junior at East Campus. “Never have I seen such a collective act of boisterous enthusiasm from a large group of people.” 

Whether it was dodge ball, karaoke, or just the school cheer, the Class of 2021 always had the most school spirit and were always the first ones to clap for others and the last ones to sit down.

Many teachers have had the privilege of working with this senior class since they were freshmen at MCHS, whether that was through academic classes, athletics, or extracurricular activities. Teachers are also sad to see their seniors move on, but the do know that their students are going to do amazing things. 

Andy Hillier, French teacher and the Drama Club advisor has seen these students grow up and mature through the years. “I think of the students I’ve had for four years,” he says, “and all the great conversations we’ve had. I remember them as freshmen, looking a little lost and wide-eyed, watching them progress through getting their licenses and going to dances, to now seeing them choose colleges and make plans for after graduation.”

This years’ graduating class has gone through a lot, and yet they managed to handle all of the hardships thrown their way with grace. Classmates report that they are accepting and open-minded, and all of the teachers who’ve watched them grow up within these walls have been given a privilege to be able to say they taught this group of students. 

Junior, Carissa Hudson has seen her senior friends get part of their junior and senior years get ripped away. She watched them handle it with grace, making the most of the situations. “On behalf of myself and every other member of the junior, sophomore, and freshman classes at MCHS, thank you class of 2021 for all that you have done. I know that you will go on to do amazing things.”

Within this past year many complex situations have been thrown at the students. This year’s graduating class is certainly a special one that the students beneath them will never be able to replace. The friendships and memories that are so valuable to so many students will be cherished here and no one will be able to forget the impact that the graduating class of 2021 has had on this school.