SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Graduating high school symbolizes a step towards the future and opportunity. The class of 2024 graduates cross the stage earning their diplomas despite their high school careers getting off to a rocky start.

The class of 2024 is the first full year of the Covid-19 class. They entered hybrid and remote classrooms, which students say was not easy.

“Not like in the beginning, but senior year was really the hardest. It hit us really hard. Especially all our teachers, I had all my dual enrollment work, it really hit us it was hard a little bit,” said High School graduate Zy’Erica Baker of Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy.

Baker was the salutatorian of her class and earned more than $100,000 in scholarships. She will study psychology at Southern University Baton Rouge.

Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Baker says she worked hard and overcame them.

“I’ve been staying on top of my work since I was young, so I just made sure I continued and continued, and like as many opportunities as they gave me, I tried to do as many as I could,” said Baker.

Graduate Deja Smith from the same school echoed this sentiment and said this accomplishment is a blessing. She says the word “perseverance” meant something more to this class.

“It meant that even though we were faced with an obstacle, we were still able to succeed. We were able to fly over all of those bad things that kept us in the house, we were able to succeed and be grateful for it,” said Smith.

Smith completed dual credit courses and earned an Associates Degree at Southern University at Shreveport.