With everything else the Class of 2021 has had to endure, of course the weather would not cooperate.

But that didn’t dampen the spirits of the Mineola High School Class of 2021 and the hundreds gathered in the high school gym to celebrate their accomplishments Friday.

In his welcome, Principal Mike Sorenson, in his first year to helm MHS after also having these students as their middle school principal, noted the 116 “amazing young men and women,” saying “It’s been a fun ride.”

“We didn’t know if we would ever have a normal graduation ceremony again,” he said. “We are a family again. We are here to celebrate.”

He outlined the hundreds who have supported the group on its journey, from faculty and school staff to hundreds throughout the community.

“They’ve been painting brush strokes on the canvas of your lives,” he said. “I like what I see. You can go to any school and compete.”

As he tried to come up with the right words for the class, their principal decided to share two things they need to do: say yes sir and no sir and yes m’am and no ma’m, and say please and thank you.

Those are words that are universally respected, he advised, and the graduates should give it out without expecting anything in return. “It will come back to you ten-fold,” he said.

Sorenson recalled two character traits emphasized by athletic director Luke Blackwell: attitude and effort.

“You control both,” he said. A resumé will open the door of opportunity and then get filed away.

Show up every day and on time with a strong work ethic and as a person of good character, he concluded.

Salutatorian Jonah Fischer offered thanks to the community of Mineola for its support and encouragement.

He said if one word describes the Class of 2021, it is “competitive” and encouraged his classmates to keep that desire.

Jiselle Miranda, Mateo Renaud and Delana Yager outlined the class history, starting with the 52 students who remained with the class throughout 13 years and concluding in a pandemic that resulted in many new hobbies started out of boredom and ended with some not quit re-catching their will to learn.

Valedictorian Valeria Garcia admitted she was not the dynamic speaker that Fischer was and did her best to avoid public speaking. But writing her speech gave her the opportunity to think about what Mineola has meant to her.

She focused on time, and how there is never enough of it.

She advised there are two ways to slow it down though, to laugh a lot and to say thanks as much as you can.

She noted that a simple show of optimism can make the world a brighter place.

“It’s upsetting that we weren’t able to have a normal junior and senior year and sadly, we cannot control the circumstances that we face today,” she said. “What we can do is choose how we respond to it as we take these next steps in life. It can be hard to imagine what life could look like as time progresses. The only certainty we have is that time goes on and the future will arrive.”