Freshman Year: 2019-2020

Freshman homecoming. Our first dance. Battle of the Bands. The pandemic begins.

Entering through the front doors, the class of 2023 began the next chapter of their lives for the next four years. The year looked optimistic; the freshman experienced their first dance at homecoming and blended in with the crowds of the sport’s student sections. Tatum Hernandez, senior, reflects on her first year participating in 2020 Battle of the Bands in February. The picture below features Tatum singing and playing guitar.

“Our last cover we played at Battle was ‘Hey Ho’ by the Lumineers and we ended up getting the crowd to sing along for a bit,” Tatum Hernandez, senior, said. “It was the most amazing experience.”

Strobing lights. Heels clicking on the wood of the gymnasium floor. Classic homecoming songs like “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus and “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid blast full volume. The picture below features the new wave of freshman’s first and last dance experience up until their junior year.

Sophomore Year: 2020-2021

Itchy Masks. Plastic foldables. Six feet apart. No homecoming, no turnabout.

As schools open their doors back up to the public, students adapt to the new safety measures as they return to the classroom during the pandemic’s peak. Even in the midst of the pandemic, the 2020-2021 varsity season volleyball team made it all the way to second place in state. Lauren Wallace, senior, was a sophomore at the time she was on the team. She still recalls it to be the best season she’s had her whole volleyball career. The picture below features Lauren and her teammates celebrating a point.

“Sophomore year volleyball season was such a fever dream,” she said. “I just remember walking into the arena at hall state and feeling like we had finally accomplished our goals. That feeling really stuck with me.”

Junior Year: 2021-2022

An outdoor homecoming. Student sections re-opened. Another virtual pep rally.

Although things started to look brighter for the new school year and mask mandations were slowly beginning to get lifted, there were still lasting impressions of the pandemic’s damage that continued to affect our day-to-day lives.

Seas of students crowding into the bleachers during the homecoming pep rally turned into a live-stream from the safety of the classrooms. Homecoming was held outside for its first time for safety precautions.

Junior year introduced a new student effort to return school-life to normal. The picture below features stands starting to fill back up with the familiar lively crowds of Munster’s student section at a varsity basketball game.

Junior Year: 2021-2022

An in-person pep rally. Senior prom. Back to normal.

After two long years of enduring the trials  of the pandemic, senior year finally offered an opportunity of what could be a normal year. Surfing through three different decades worth of acid-washed jeans or scrunchies, the 2023 school year finally calls for the senior class to fetch their neon spandex and strap on their itchy headbands for this year’s 80’s workout. This year’s spirit week goes to show that despite all the challenges the senior class endured their last three years through the pandemic, everlasting traditions will continue to prevail.

Along with this, the senior class held their final dance at the Serbian Social Center for their 2023 prom. This was the upper class’ first experience having a junior and senior dance.

Graduation on June 4. Now, you look into the future, where you’ll be turning your tassel and moving onto the next chapter of your life in only 24 days. What’s next?