LHS Class of ‘Unpredictability’ Graduates at Last

The La Grange High School Class of 2020 had already waited an extra month to graduate.

So 30 more minutes was no big deal.

Thursday night powerful storms rolled through Fayette County leading to a lot of uncertainty that La Grange’s graduation was actually going to take place at Leopard Stadium. But a 30-minute delay was all that was needed to make sure the venue was safe – and a rainbow appeared over the stadium as a sign that things were fine to proceed.

The LHS graduation was the last of this county’s five commencement ceremonies. The other four schools had opted for delays of just days for their ceremonies amidst coronavirus precautions, but La Grange officials, hoping for a relaxing of pandemic guidelines, waited a full month and got their wish, as 10 guests per graduate were allowed to attend the ceremony.

Those groups were spread out all over Leopard Stadium to ensure social distancing, and even the graduates themselves were spaced out on chairs on the field.

A handful of people watched the ceremony from lawnchairs outside the fence of the stadium.

The coronavirus impacts hung heavy over most of the proceedings, with many of the speakers referring to it in some form of fashion in their speeches.

Autumn Highberg gave the opening remarks, thanking her fellow graduates for the past 13 years they shared together. Belen Cerda led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and the School Song.

Lauren Huenefeld gave the welcome, talking about the 105 days that had passed since the senior class was last together before the school facilities were closed because of the pandemic. She detailed many of the things the seniors missed out on during that time, but then said, “let’s remember instead all of the things that we did get to do ... you don’t know what you are missing until it’s gone.”

After the announcement of the top graduates (see story on the front page), guest speaker John Comstock was introduced.

Comstock was the last surviving student to be pulled out of the 1999 Texas A&M bonfire collapse that killed 12 and injured 27 students.

Comstock, who spoke from his wheelchair, talked about suffering under the collapsed logs of the bonfire for seven and a half hours until he was able to be safely removed, and then undergoing emergency surgery.

“Spoiler alert: I survived,” Comstock said.

Then he talked about the depression of “not being interested in life anymore,” as he tried to rehab from his injuries and while dealing with the death of his parents (one died shortly before the bonfire collapse and one shortly after).

“I began thinking, ‘Had I done anything in my life to make things better? I realized I had one life to live,” Comstock said. “I was going to be happy, content and bring positivity to people ... Hang in there. I won’t promise you life will be rosy ... but build your life instead of tearing it down.”

Senior Mikaylee Supak gave the farewell saying in part, “I decided to stay away from talking about COVID, for one because I’m tired of talking about it and two, it has stolen the spotlight enough this year.”

Then Principal John Pineda announced the graduates, with each coming and picking up their diploma from a table. There was no visible contact between the graduates and anyone else during the ceremony. Only one of the graduates wore a mask, but many in the crowd did.

Lauren Kosler gave the closing remarks offering a prayer for the graduates and saying, “This virus took so much from us ... but everything happens for a reason.”

Then she directed her fellow graduates to grab an additional graduation cap that was placed under each senior’s chair and, on the count of three, they threw the spare hats aloft, but they had been instructed not to retrieve them.

Then small groups of graduates and their guests were dismissed from the stadium out of four exits in the continuing effort to keep people separated. They departed for the last time as the complete Class of 2020, a group Huenenfeld had described in her speech as the class “that learned to accept unpredictably on a daily basis.”