The seventy-three members of the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Class of 2021 were graduated in ceremonies on campus the morning of Thursday, May 6. Although not the usual standing-room only crowd in the Sitka Performing Arts Center, Thursday’s event in the BJ McGillis Field House brought many families into Sitka, with students hailing from far-flung communities like St. Paul Island and Alakanuk.
This year’s Salutatory Address was delivered by Cheyenne Murphy of Bethel; Tia Patkotak of Anchorage was Valedictorian. See a full program here.
Graduation 2021 was quite a contrast to 2020’s ceremony, which was put together virtually as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened into the spring that year, forcing the cancellation of all events large and small. But the pandemic also left a mark this year: Besides masking, social distancing, and limited tickets for visiting family, a handful of students were in quarantine after athletes around the region were exposed to the virus at the Bill Weiss Wrestling Tournament in Ketchikan at the end of April.
