On the evening of June 1, students of Hinsdale Central’s graduating class of 2023 were given the chance to reflect on a less-than-orthodox high school experience.
The class of 671 students’ freshman and sophomore years were marred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“This is a group of seniors that it has been a long four years, but I think this year in particular they have really come together as a class,” Hinsdale Central Principal William Walsh said in an interview with The Doings.
“Relentless,” Walsh said, was the one word best used to describe the students graduating that year.
“The demonstration of character in regards to coming together, just an absolute joy to work with,” he said.
Students, faculty, family and friends gathered at the school’s football field, every yard covered by the gowned class, onlookers filled the bleachers and crowded around fences, banners of the universities each of the students had accepted to attend hung along the grounds.
One of those posters was for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the next stop for Carter Knotts, the student council vice president.
“We have not had the most conventional high school experience given COVID,” Knotts said in an interview. “But I truly think Hinsdale Central has been such an amazing experience. I cannot thank my teachers and my peers enough for the support they provided me.”
Coming back from the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for the school, but students came back with an even greater sense of pride in their community, Knotts said.
“I think students wanted to be more involved with the school, whether it was attending school sponsored events, or athletic events,” she said. While I would say it hindered the first two years of the class of 2023, I think that it made last year and especially this our senior year all the more special.”