Why the graduates screamed, and other tales from the Covid Class of 2021

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After a year such as this, it was perhaps no surprise that a commencement speaker would lead the class of 2021 in a primal scream.

“Turn your face to the sky and scream. Scream away all the stress,” urged Peninsula High School senior Elizabeth Pierson from the podium at Mount Tahoma stadium on Saturday.

The graduating seniors responded with a shriek that could have been heard back home, across the bridge.

“Thank you,” said Ms. Pierson as the tumult subsided. “I feel better now.”

For the graduating seniors of Peninsula and their counterparts at Gig Harbor High School, the back-to-back ceremonies at a borrowed stadium radiated joy, defiant pride and — overwhelmingly — relief.

“Well guys, we made it,” Gig Harbor senior Lauren Garnaas told her class. “We’ve hurdled every obstacle and come out on the other side. Time after time, we’ve readjusted, rescheduled and replanned because no matter what, we weren’t going to give up on our senior year.”

“We made it to the finish line, and oh, man, does it feel good,” said Peninsula’s Pierson. Of the class of ‘21, she said, “We are energy and hopes and fears held together by wisdom and — and who knows what.”

A borrowed stadium

The June 12 ceremonies were taking place outdoors at Mount Tahoma because the planned venue, the Tacoma Dome, couldn’t accommodate the needed number of students and families and still meet COVID-19 guidelines.

The seniors sat in chairs on the stadium field separated by six feet, most of them masked under their mortarboards. The school board and faculty, marching in their academic regalia, were also masked. Even “Pomp and Circumstance,” was pre-recorded — it was too risky for live bands.

Still, the seniors were here, and in person, and that counted. Many were decked out in bright leis from friends and families, and some had decorated their mortarboards with flowers. Although it had rained all night, the sun was bright, and a breeze occasionally whipped the grads’ white stoles.

Steeled for the future

Dr. Art Jarvis, the Peninsula School District superintendent, noted in his welcoming speech that “This class began in a great recession, and ends in the worst pandemic we’ve ever seen. If that doesn’t steel them for the challenges of the future, I don’t know what will.”

The theme was echoed by David Olson, president of the Peninsula School District board of directors.

“When faced with a 100-year pandemic, you had two options: You could wither away and give up, or embrace the unexpected, step up and meet the challenge,” he told the graduates. “You chose the latter. You overcame the various obstacles and here you are.. We are so very proud of each one of you. You persevered..”

Olson asked the graduates to promise to “that you will give back to your community, you will help those less fortunate, and that you will be kind.”

Accomplished class

Joe Potts, principal of Peninsula, reminded the graduates of what they had been through.

“We were online and off, we were masked up and distanced, we were on the field and courts and then off, we were sectioned into quadrants at lunches and proms. You’ve had your temperatures taken so many times you’ve lost track.”

But, he added, “You made it work. All of it. You were resilient and persistent, and you should be very proud.”

In spite of the disruption and uncertainty, the Class of 2021 was an accomplished one. The 350 graduates of Gig Harbor High School included 77 who also earned Associate of Arts degrees in the Running Start program at a community college. At Peninsula, 22 of the 320 graduates also earned AAs, and three earned a coveted state certification of bilingual competency.

According to Potts, PHS graduates earned an aggregate of about $2 million in scholarships and financial aid, and there was a similar record across town at GHHS.

Familiar rituals

It wasn’t quite a full return to normalcy, but the familiar rituals of commencement brought comfort.

At the Peninsula ceremony, which came first, senior Madelyn Bjorn sang the national anthem — and nailed the high notes. For Gig Harbor’s turn, Cameron Gabe added some jazz riffs in a version played on tenor saxophone.

Each class heard a succession of student speakers, recounting the pandemic year with a mixture of earnestness and wry wit.

“We will be forever envied as the class who could wake up five minutes before class, still in bed, and be marked present for attendance nevertheless,” joked Gig Harbor senior Lauren Garnass.

Evan Hoang, another GHHS senior, calculated that each student had spent 29,925 minutes on Zoom: “If we had a dollar for every minute spent on Zoom, it would be like 30 stimmies, or enough to buy a new car,” he said, using a slang term for stimulus check.

Pierson of Peninsula recalled the battles with “terrible Wi-Fi” and said her most vivid memory will be of “the back pain from being hunched over a computer for six hours a day.” And if parents didn’t know what “asynchronous learning” meant, she said, “I can confirm that your students don’t know, either.”

New definition of ‘home’

There were moments of reflection as well.

The closing of the school building during the pandemic, said Gig Harbor ASB President Jalen Meyerpeter, redefined her definition of “home.”

“Home isn’t found in a house, and it’s not found in a building — even a school building — but in the hearts of a community coming together, loving each other, leaning on one another and simply doing life together,” she said. “It’s a puzzle that we’re all a part of, and when put together looks a lot like ‘home.”

The Class of 2021, said Peninsula senior Hope Flannigan, “has made history. Our perseverance and determination in this challenging time has certainly prepared us for whatever may come next. Class of 2021, this is your moment. I cannot wait to see the amazing things you are destined to do.”

This story was originally published June 13, 2021 at 6:08 PM.