Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Class of 2025: Expanding by consolidating

From “squish together” urgings by an announcer for the arriving crowd to twice as many students receiving diplomas in about the same amount of time as past years, the graduation ceremony for Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Class of 25 was the pinnacle of consolidation.

About 280 students walked across the stage in the George Houston Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon during the 80-minute ceremony featuring the usual student, faculty and alumni speakers, but also some novelties reflecting unusual events from the past few years.

A banner and many speakers offered tributes to graduates who spent their first three years at Thunder Mountain High School before transferring to JDHS at the beginning of their senior year due to the consolidation of schools by Juneau School District leaders to cope with a budget crisis.

Also, it was the first truly post-pandemic graduation with none of the speakers mentioning COVID-19. Social distancing definitely was out for the standing-room crowd, with demand for tickets far exceeding supply and those who did get in being urged every few minutes to crowd together before the ceremony started.

JDHS Principal Paula Casperson teared up as she welcomed the students and audience, noting her daughter Bristol was among the graduates and “the idea that time has passed so swiftly breaks me a little.”

“And yet here we are with a bigger, taller and maybe even a little smarter version of you,” the principal said. “We have come together to communally acknowledge your individual accomplishments and to celebrate you as you launch into the next chapter of your story. This year was a doozy — really, to say unprecedented does not begin to scratch the surface of the challenges that we faced. And yet, here we are 12 years later side-by-side with your classmates from kindergarten and all the years after.”

The past school year at JDHS was filled with adjustments ranging from former rivals competing for limited spots on varsity sports teams to daily struggles to find parking — one of the biggest concerns expressed by students when consolidation was being discussed. But Laina Mesdag, one of three student speakers Sunday, said the year was also a time of forming new bonds.

“I feel a sense of pride that we were able to come together and celebrate our last year together, united once again,” she said. “With that being said, I’d like to acknowledge the seniors displaced from their original school. I hope you found a welcoming community here, lack of parking lot and all.”

The changes during the past year were also mentioned by Amy Lloyd, an English and social studies teacher, who as the ceremony’s staff speaker urged graduates not to be afraid of new things and sometimes failing at them.

“You’re going to say or do something totally embarrassing and it will haunt you while you’re brushing your teeth or when you lie down to sleep at night,” she said. “Someone will insult you and you’ll think of an amazing comeback — a week later. You’re going to make mistakes. You’ll set your alarm for p.m. instead of a.m. You’ll tell lies. You’ll tell someone the truth and realize maybe a lie would have been the kinder choice. You’ll gossip. Maybe the gossip will be about you. You will fail many times — and yet you will also succeed triumphantly.”

The keynote speaker, Jonelle Staveland, a 2013 TMHS graduate and basketball star who now owns her own coffee stand in Merchant’s Wharf talked to the graduates about the next steps in their lives — and how those may go through unexpected and difficult changes as well.

“When the time came to decide what I was going to do after high school my Plan A was simple: go to college so I could play basketball, graduate and hopefully enjoy the career path that awaited me after,” she said. “It turns out life had other plans for me. By my junior year of college I had my third knee surgery, which resulted in me dropping out of school and, honestly, left me in fear, mainly because at that time I realized I was only in school to play basketball. Without it I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to do in life. Now, 12 years later, the life that I’m living is the opposite of what I envisioned. I went back to school to obtain a business degree and, at age 30, I’m working a full-time job while also running my own business.”

Next steps for this year’s graduates — like the school year they just completed — shared some similarities and vast differences. A common theme among those interviewed after was a celebratory meal with family — before or after other activities. Some have definitive plans for the coming days and weeks, some are simply looking forward to sleeping in the day after getting their diplomas.

Picking spots for post-ceremony photos with friends and family also varied. Tiare Maka, 18, opted to stand next to the gigantic glass-encased Mac the Bear mascot in the commons area, where she said her plans for the evening included barbecue made by her dad.

Maka, who is planning to attend the University of Alaska Southeast this fall, arrived at graduation day via a different course than most of her peers discussed by speakers during the ceremony. She said she was homeschooled for her first three years before deciding to enroll at JDHS for her final year.

“I wanted to walk with everyone,” she said when asked about that decision.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.