After a last-minute change moved the festivities into the school gym, Vernon Hills High School held its Class of 2021 graduation ceremony Thursday, and, between two sessions, saw almost 380 graduates walk across the stage.
The first session began at 6:30 p.m. and the second at 8 p.m. Both ceremonies were carried out in identical fashion, with the speeches being about the struggles of the past year and reminiscing on the adventures of the class during the students’ high school careers.
Senior Class President Evelyn Leary opened both ceremonies with a speech detailing the road to graduation. She talked about the awkwardness of freshman year, the challenges of junior year, then a senior year that saw students juggling between all-remote and hybrid learning modes before moving back to in-person learning.
“Despite these setbacks, we came out successful,” Leary said. “We stepped up to the challenge and triumphed …. Us being here tonight is proof that the class of 2021 is a class like no other and in the best way.”
Commencement speaker Zander Schwartz, in a speech titled “So Long, Partner,” challenged the other graduates to think of somebody who has impacted them the most. He said because of remote learning, the students lost much of that link to those individuals. He still thanked the teachers for making the year possible.
He also said he’ll miss the stories shared between the students throughout the school days.
“We can never forget where we came from as we move on to the next steps of our lives,” Schwartz said. “I know we’re going on to big things, but I’m really going to miss you guys.”
In his speech, Principal Jonathan Guillaume spoke to the class about the difficulties of the past year. He asked the crowd how fast they felt this year went by, adding that he still goes back and forth on the question.
“Sometimes it feels like a blink, and others it feels like a never-ending roller coaster,” he said. “Now that the class of 2021 is nearly fully in hindsight, I am encouraged because you have indeed left your mark.”
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This year’s graduating class included 34 merit scholars and 139 honors students, which is a student with a GPA of 4.0 or higher, Guillaume said. He recognized those individuals, and also thanked those students who signed up for the military.
Several members of the school board were present to address the class and help hand out diplomas. Community High School District 128 board President Lisa Hessel spoke about the resiliency of the students.
“We are sending you out into this world as ambassadors of our daring mission,” she said. “And through this time you have proven you are more than up to the task.”
SD128 spokeswoman Mary Todoric told Pioneer Press the school experience in the past year has been full of changes and uncertainty, but, she said, it was wonderful that students at both schools were able to celebrate their graduations.
“We wish all of our graduates the absolute best,” she said.
Guillaume told Pioneer Press that a couple challenges came with organizing the commencement ceremony. This included having to change the venue at the last minute due to inclement weather and having to host it in two sessions. Despite this, Guillaume said school officials were able to celebrate the class, which he said has been “uniquely resilient, adaptable and strong.”
“I could not be more pleased,” Guillaume said.
