It’s been a tough few years for East High’s class of 2024.
Students who are now seniors graduated middle school at the start of the pandemic in 2020 without any ceremony to mark their transition. They continued to be confronted by COVID’s disruptions to their education for years.
Last year’s school year was also marked by gun violence. First, the death of Luis Garcia, who was a member of the class of 2024. Then, a school shooting that wounded two administrators and led to the death of the shooter, also a student.
But on Tuesday, the scene at Denver Coliseum was one of joy as hundreds of students from one of the city’s flagship public high schools celebrated a key milestone in American life: high school graduation.
The speeches were full of reflections on the past few years, imaginings of what the class of 2024 has ahead of them and frequent references to the high school’s fire alarm.
Hundreds of families across several generations packed the stands and brought flowers and gifts to cheer on their graduates.
“You have advocated for legislative change, you continue to be brave and inclusive, embracing all of our differences that make this school so beautiful, and you've shown great empathy towards your community in a time where violence has been no stranger throughout the entire world,” principal Terita Walker said. “You have made your mark on his high school, and it's now time for you to make your mark on the world.”
Here’s what we saw and what students said about the milestone.
Onstage and in interviews, first-generation students paid tribute to their parents.
Graduation speaker Isabella Pinedo talked about her parents’ experience immigrating to the U.S. and her identity as an Indigenous and Mexican American student.
“Education did not play a big role for either one of my parents. My father immigrated to the United States alone as a child and his only thought process was to work and to earn the American dream. My mom was unable to finish high school because she became a teen mom,” said Pinedo, who received a full-ride to attend nursing school at Metropolitan State University.
“Although my parents are by no means perfect … they always made everything possible for us,” she said. “Seniors, let's all make sure we thank the people that got us here today.”
Roland Huerta Caballero is headed to the University of Colorado Denver to study media production. In an interview with Denverite, he praised the teachers and mentors who helped him with college applications as a first-gen student.
“It's a great accomplishment, my parents’ sacrifices weren’t in vain,” he said. “To me personally, I'm able to make a career, a big name for myself, and make my parents proud of who I’ll be, who I am,” he said.
Huerta Caballero said making it to graduation showed how resilient his classmates are.
“While I was in the ceremony I definitely thought of many ups and downs,” he said. “I definitely remember the COVID years and then the shootings last year, but also remember all that goodness we had that helped strengthen our community.”
The people who couldn’t attend the ceremony were on the minds of many seniors at the East High graduation.
“It’s thanks to you mom,” said Noah Vong, one of the student speakers. “I would give anything for you to be here today.”
Another emotional moment came when diplomas were presented to the students and staff read out Luis Garcia’s name. The entire coliseum stood and clapped for a prolonged moment to honor the student who was shot outside the school in 2023.
Other students had their minds on other missing loved ones.
“Right now I'm just thinking about my dad. I wish he was here,” said graduating senior Diamond Morgan after the ceremony. “It's been a tough couple years.”
But the overwhelming feeling from the class of 2024 was one of excitement.
“It kind of feels like a pipe dream a little bit, it doesn’t feel real,” said graduate Cian Murphy.
Murphy was a member of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and plans to join the U.S. Navy and work on submarines.
His hopes after graduating? “Not drown,” he said.
Draped in cords representing her involvement in Women of East, the Queer Student Alliance and a handful of other student groups, Madelyn Arnold recalled her favorite memory from her time at East High.
“I really loved contributing to the community,” she said. “I painted some murals around the school and just going to all the student activities, it was really amazing.”
Arnold plans to attend University of California Santa Cruz to study marine biology and art. Reflecting on the difficulties of the past few years, she said graduation made it all worth it.
“This really overshadows it all,” she said. “I’m really excited to go to college.”
Morgan, who plans to start cosmetology school, perhaps put her feelings about graduation best: “I'm excited to be grown.”
