Santa Fe's Class of 2022 celebrates the end of a rocky four years

May 23—Santa Fe High School senior Hailey Loya will head to Oregon in late summer to attend the University of Portland on a full-ride scholarship.

Such an opportunity didn't always feel possible for Loya, 18, a Davis New Mexico Scholarship recipient who is on track to become a first-generation high school graduate in the middle of a global health crisis.

"I questioned if I could do this, if I could really go through with school," she said.

Loya is one of hundreds of graduating seniors in Santa Fe who have weathered social isolation, economic uncertainty and interrupted learning during a high school period like no other in recent memory.

The consensus is clear: The Class of 2022 is moving forward with more than a diploma and is less focused on awards and GPAs. Graduates say they have achieved an extraordinary level of personal growth, resiliency and a sense of optimism: They learned they can reach goals even when hurdles and hardships stand in their way.

Loya sees a major triumph in her ability to overcome intergenerational trauma and self-doubt as she earned a diploma and enrolled in college.

"I struggled a lot with mental health," she said.

Most 2022 graduates have spent more than 10 percent of their lives dealing with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including a decline in mental health since the pandemic began in March 2020, suddenly forcing teens into periods of remote learning and isolation from friends.

National polling shows the nation's youngest generation also experienced altered job prospects.

As local families struggle with steep inflation and wildfires ravage an increasingly drought-stricken Northern New Mexico — the effects of climate change on full display — the world this year's graduates are about to enter can feel "insecure and unstable," as Loya put it.

Still, there's a sense of excitement.

"Our class went through a pandemic and graduated. You should let it sink in — you overcame this huge hurdle," said Desert Sage Academy senior Eddie Cassidy. "The next things you do in your life are going to be amazing."

Capital High School senior Gilberto Morales said time flew during his high school years, in part due to stretches of online learning from home.

"It feels bittersweet," he said of graduation. "I'm excited for what's to come."

Morales will attend the University of New Mexico in the fall to study computer science and minor in drama. He initially planned to enroll in a college out of state but said the recent expansion of the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, and its promise of free tuition, persuaded him to stay.

Many of his peers also changed their plans to take advantage of free tuition, he added.

Monte del Sol Charter School graduate Mahmoud Abdel-Maksoud said he's shifted his plans, too. Instead of studying fashion in Los Angeles, he will take digital marketing and business classes at UNM.

"The college I wanted to go to is a little pricey," Abdel-Maksoud said. "If [UNM] is not my cup of tea, we'll see what the options are."

Asked about his greatest accomplishment during high school, Morales said it is, simply, "the person that I am."

"I've definitely strengthened my communication skills, which is something I'm super proud of," he said.

Morales, like many of his classmates, struggled with remote learning as a sophomore and junior during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. He had to keep up with the demands of school while caring for his 5-year-old sister as his mother, a single parent in the medical field, worked for up to 90 hours a week.

"We were scared of getting this virus," he said. "We were also concerned for her."

He added, "The pandemic, it kind of was a reality check. A huge one. You feel like you're growing up with the same people. ... As soon as I was cut off from that, I realized we are all responsible for our own future."

Cassidy entered Santa Fe High as a football player with "average" grades and is now graduating from the district's online and hybrid school, Desert Sage Academy, with mostly A's and a new take on life. He's planning to study business at Santa Fe Community College in the fall.

Everything changed for him when the pandemic struck during his sophomore year.

He transferred to Desert Sage to reduce his chances of contracting COVID-19 and passing it along to his two younger sisters, who are at risk for more severe illness.

His friend group dissolved; he left athletics; he started working at a restaurant.

His main goal became graduating on time.

In Cassidy's eyes, the journey to the finish line became an exceedingly narrow road. Many students fell by the wayside without the ability to socialize with friends in person or have close teacher guidance.

"Kids walked this narrow road and found success in the pandemic," he said. "The people that fell ... they needed that one-on-one support."

Santa Fe High English teacher Julieta Salazar, who also teaches a college readiness program known as AVID, said the last four years have been marked by transition.

When the Class of 2022 were freshmen, they were nervous and intimidated at new schools before they found new friends and learned to navigate campuses. As seniors, they returned to classrooms for their first full year of in-person learning, bracing for the weight of new expectations after teachers had been more lenient during remote learning.

"When they came back for their senior year after more than a year of being without classes, it kind of was like starting all over for them," Salazar said. "They had to find each other once again and begin the journey where they left off."

At a recent banquet celebrating seniors, Salazar said the "butterfly" theme was fitting for the Class of 2022.

"It's like they sprouted wings during the pandemic, and when they got out of their houses, they didn't know what to do with their wings," she said. "I'm happy to say, at least speaking for my group, I think they're going to make it."

For Early College Opportunities High School senior Thania Juarez, the first ECO recipient of the state's bilingual seal, the last four years were trying. Her grandmother died during the pandemic, and her family was unable to visit her before her death due to the risks posed by the virus.

"It was really too much for us," she said. "The only thing that kept me going was my family. My mother, I really wanted her to see me graduate."

Juarez spent her years at ECO learning technical skills like auto mechanics, but she's hoping to pursue law — possibly in immigration — after watching her family navigate the legal system after moving to Santa Fe from Oaxaca, Mexico.

She has one thought for the Class of 2022:

"Everything's possible. We really made it through."