What. A. Year.

Remote learning options, social distancing, open windows in January, quarantining, tech support… there were many things on our list of “firsts” this academic year. It was complicated. It was awkward. It was fatiguing.

But let me tell you a little bit about the 28 teens that made up the 2020-2021 class.

They are resilient. Through constant online audio issues, frigid classroom temps, brand new systems and software, lacking social engagement, evolving safety policies – not to mention the general stresses and fear of contending with life during a global pandemic – this crew found ways to connect with each other, their instructors, and the material they’d come to learn.

They are kind. TEEN DAY always has a community feel, but that feeling was harder to establish in 2020-2021, due to our inability to be together as a large group for much of the year. But that didn’t stop these teens. They sent messages to new participants to introduce themselves. They met up online to do homework with classmates who were struggling. They brought thank-you gifts to frazzled instructors. They cheered on each other during presentations and speeches.

They are brilliant. I’m always impressed with the abilities of TEEN DAY participants. But this year… wow. I saw kids who, at the beginning of the year were too nervous to say more than a few words in front of their peers, end the year debating global policy at an international conference. Who told me when I met them that they “weren’t into writing,” only to produce some of the most compelling short stories I’ve ever heard. Who re-framed a lab report as a nonfiction narrative. Who taught me more about constitutional law than any government class I’d ever taken. And I could go on and on.

Thank you parents. Thank you instructors. Thank you administrators. And thank you and congratulations to the Class of 2020-2021.