The Evanston Township High School commencement ceremony on May 19 for the Class of 2024 was a showcase for this year’s class of 928 graduates.
Graduation took place on Sunday morning at Northwestern University’s Welsh-Ryan Arena at McGaw Memorial Hall in Evanston. The demolition of nearby Ryan Field was merely a void spectacle for the curious to observe.
Keith A. Robinson, associate principal for educational services at ETHS, coordinated graduation.
For the Class of 2024, “These students have had such a unique high school experience, starting their journey during the COVID-19 era,” Robinson said.
When the Class of 2024 teens were freshman, there was remote learning.
“Despite the challenges they faced, their perseverance, grit, and determination have brought them to this momentous day,” Robinson said.
“We are so proud of their accomplishments,” Robinson added, with a belief that, “graduation will create lasting memories that will overshadow the difficulties they encountered at the start of high school. Their families and loved ones should be bursting with pride, and the students themselves should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.”
It has been a theme for seniors of high school graduating classes to talk about where they started during the COVID-19 pandemic and where they are four years later being able to attend an in-person graduation.
“I mean it’s kind of crazy standing here,” said graduate Joan Camaya, 18. “You know, freshman year was online, we were on Zoom, so being here today is kind of crazy. It was a crazy time.”
“To be here right now is amazing and wonderful,” Camaya said, while waiting with other graduates before the ceremony, queued indoors in Northwestern University’s Trienens Performance Center.
ETHS Director of Bands Matt Bufis said commencement is a great event for the community.
“It’s also wonderful to see how many alums there are in the audience,” Bufis said. “Of course, we have a lot of band alums that are part of today so it’s our honor to play for them and support the community.”
Miigus Niibin Curley, 17, of Evanston wore a feather on cording attached to the mortarboard cap. Additional bright colors for Curley’s graduation wardrobe accessorized the dark blue and orange of Wildkits school colors. Floral embroidery stood brightly against a royal blue sash.
Curley’s heritage has Native American Ojibwe and Navajo ancestry.
“I feel empowering in a way,” Curley said. “I was the first person in my family to go to prom, the first person now to be able to wrap all of my regalia and walk onstage, so I’m very excited. I’m so grateful for my family. I feel like in a lot of ways I am definitely repping my culture in a way that is really important to my identity and who I am as a person. It wouldn’t make sense for me to be on that stage without all of this.”
Graduate Sheniah Tara Cunningham, 18, summarized the four years from a pandemic to May of 2024.
“High school’s a tough time, been through a whole lot,” Cunningham said, “but it’s the end now, so we’re just happy and ready to just go. It’s about celebrating.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
