Elena Murrieta

Las Vegas Academy’s of The Arts student council made a sign at the senior picnic assembly for the 2024 graduating class.

The class that seems to have dealt with the most challenges and that seems to have been given the least is the class of 2024. While completing their eighth grade education, their year was taken by a pandemic that took the lives of so many, and also made everyone fear being together. It was the lack of connection going into their freshman year that seemed harder, compared to the people who got their “normal” freshman year. 

According to IVYWise, “Your first year of high school is an important time to consider what classes and extracurriculars you like, what passions you want to pursue, and what might be possible for your future career.” This means that going to school, people get to experience that trial run year that comes with high school. It’s the year you remember you were more childish since you came from middle school. Sadly, for the year 2024 graduates, it was taken away as they were learning to be their own humans, and their trail runs were being done at home.

At Las Vegas Academy of The Arts,  Josiah Douglass, a senior vocal major, was there during the online year at LVA. “I think with our first year of high school being online, it made our sophomore year feel really strange. From almost feeling coddled at times, to then, also feeling like we were thrown in the deep end at other times. It made the transition back to in-person schooling challenging,” said Douglass. 

Senior vocal major Leya Dow said, “I’ve noticed that this class doesn’t really have the motivation to do a lot of things. That I can understand, because I lose motivation all the time.” This online year, though it affected people in different ways, still had various effects on students.

This caused problems in socializing, communication, and mental health issues since people were separated from others and felt as though they didn’t have an outlet to get their thoughts and feelings out. But the year passed, and it led into their sophomore year.

The first “in-person” year back to school was considered, technically, the start of high school since students got to go to a new school they didn’t know, even though they were technically there the year before. 

In their sophomore year of high school, students are prepared for college and are told to think about what path they may be taking in life when they leave high school. Tests like the PSAT are done, MAP testing is done for placements for classes, and so much more. 

This year went by so much faster than some realized, and while some wasted away the year, others pushed harder and harder to make up for the year they lost. There was a split on how people felt about this year, but it was the first official year back. 

After their sophomore year comes what people believe is the hardest year of high school, junior year. “People might say junior year is the hardest year of high school, but that’s not an excuse to cruise through the other three years,” said SoFi Learn about junior year. While all of your high school years are important, it is the third year that matters since, that is when preparation for college begins, the SAT, the ACT, college tours, and much more occupies their time. With proper planning, this year can lead to a student having a great and easier senior year, before getting to do everything again, but in college. 

It is important to not let this scare you. It is also important to take into consideration mental health and noting any telltale signs, in not only others around you, but in yourself. According to the Mental Health America and 8 News Now said, “In 2023, Nevada ranked 39th in the nation for access to mental health care, and 51st for youth mental health, indicating that Nevada youth have a high prevalence of mental illness and lover rates of access to care.” Another study done by ResearchGate also shows how high school juniors experience more of an effect on their mental health due to academic pressures, their peers, and much more. While this does not apply to everyone, it is still a factor that needs to be accounted for and considered. 

While the junior year was hard, the last and final year, the senior year, finally arrived. This is the year everyone looks forward to since the long journey of high school is coming to an end. 

While the 2024 seniors dealt with the typical bumps of high school life, there was something different about this class. Douglass said, “I love my graduating class, I can’t wait to walk beside them. I think there’s been ups and downs. I think all of the policy changes, grade changes, and the way CCSD handles things has made it a little confusing. And I’ve seen that sometimes it’s hard for us to keep up.”

There have been many changes for not only the Clark County School District, but LVA as well. “I feel like we’re very strong. We’ve been through way too much and it’s honestly surprising that a lot of us will be walking the stage next week. I don’t think the district really looked out for us the way they could have this year. From the hacking to new systems being implemented and not being able to pay off fees digitally for almost over a month is horrible, and it seemed as if they just didn’t care,” said Dow. But students learn how to deal with what is thrown at them since it’s something they will learn in life.

With that being said, there were challenges and changes thrown at students such as, a new garage being built, the field being taken away, the grades changing every year, dress code revisions, the lunch time situations, teachers being added and others retiring, and many more. LVA was constantly changing and will continue to do so.

“I’ve noticed a lot of changes, specifically in my major. We’ve had teachers come and go, choirs change, loss, some classes even being removed, and all around consistent and difficult changes. These last four years have been a lot for both the students and teachers of the Vocal Department.  It is a great school, and a really good environment. And the ups and downs are part of the process,” said Douglass.

With the many changes Dow said, “I haven’t really noticed a lot of changes within LVA, aside from maybe stricter policies and procedures. I feel like our class was slightly overlooked, but we are labeled as the ‘special’ class, because of how we started high school. They’ll never forget our class, that’s for sure.” 

With every graduating class, there will always be something new, but for the class of 2024, their season has come to an end.