The Rosemount High School seniors and faculty members are preparing for the upcoming graduation at the beginning of June. 

This graduation will be considered the first “normal” ceremony since 2020. The seniors will head to the Mariucci 3M arena on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UVM) campus on June 4th. Seniors chose Ann Marie Kline as staff speaker for the graduation of 2022. Luckily, students can sit next to each other and bring as many guests as they want. There is a mask requirement on campus, but administrators are anticipating this rule will change depending on the city of Minneapolis and UVM’s policy. 

Calvin Keasling, the assistant principal, says, “Right now, the limitations are far less than what they were two years ago.” Keasling and other administrators are working to ensure that seniors will have a normal graduation and be able to walk down the aisle. They are still planning to have seniors walk down to Rosemount Middle and later rehearse at the 3M stadium. He states, “Once we get ready to start having rehearsals with all of the seniors and figuring out what those steps will look like and how to get you guys ready for graduation, that’s gonna be the critical piece.”

To add, Ann Marie Kline also spoke out about the growing concerns on graduation. She says, “It’s a tricky situation right now because there are still the masks and hoping these numbers go down.” There have been mask requirements at the ceremonies in the last two years, and people had to be outside in the 90° weather. But Kline is hoping that “everyone will be unmasked so that we can see those smiles and just be back together again under what would be a normal graduation.”

Kline also highlights that she is excited to be celebrating graduation with the class of 2022 and presenting her first graduation speech. Typically, she is at graduation every year and listens to the other speakers, such as Mr. Albaugh and Mr. Floersch. But this year, she emphasized that “she has big shoes to fill.” 

The graduating students are also very excited about the end of high school. Senior Laura Hayes expressed: “I’m a little scared… but I’m excited to just move more into that ‘pursuing your dreams’ stage of life.” 

The faculty members and administrators are thrilled to share this experience with the class of 2022. Seniors can finally return to a little bit more of what is traditional in the sense of commencement as well as senior celebration. Hopefully, all students will finish their courses on a good note in order to enjoy graduation to the fullest.