Minooka holds in-person graduation

In a ceremony that lasted the whole weekend and was forced by weather to take place in two different places, the seniors from Minooka High School graduated July 11-12.

The students were divided into groups based on last name and were able to hear their name called, walk the stage and pose for photos with properly masked school administration.

Weather forced Saturday’s edition to take place indoors at the Performing Arts Center, while Sunday graduates were able to graduate on the newly remodeled Indian football stadium.

“We are very proud of all of the staff that helped put this all together. It is a lot of hours on their behalf and a lot of people came out and worked for two days over a weekend to give closure to what has been a very interesting last couple of months and, hopefully, a positive four-year career here at MCHS,” said Minooka Superintendent Dr. Kenny Lee. “I am proud of the resiliency that our students have shown and this is a nice way to end their season.

“We wanted to still give the graduates the chance to walk across the stage and their parents to capture that moment and it worked out well and I am proud of how patient out parents and students were all spring.”

The ceremony was a hit with the Minooka students and families as well.

From the sign at the school’s entrance to the huge ‘2020’ display in front of the stadium, students celebrated with photos galore.

“This is really nice and I appreciate that they are really trying to give us something at the end of the year that we can do because we waited four years for this,” said graduate Jasmin Zielinski. “I am really glad that we got something.”

The weekend kicked off with class of 2020 car parade on July 10 and a virtual prom for the seniors where the prom court and the king and queen were announced. The 2020 prom king was Kino Garcia, while queen was Kelsie Kasky.

“We have great educators and it was great to see a number of teachers come out for the parade and cheer on the graduating class of 2020,” said Minooka principal Bryan Zwemke. “We wanted to do something to give closure to our seniors and our staff, teachers, secretaries and administrators have done a great job getting this all ready for the students.

“We saw some beautiful family moments out here, so it was time well spent and absolutely well deserved.”