Chief Sealth International High School‘s Class of 2024 is celebrating their graduation after this evening’s ceremony at Memorial Stadium downtown – with abundant exuberance, including the grad shown above, carthwheeling from stage to seat after diploma acceptance.

And of course, the nearly 300 grads had their cap-toss moments later:

After Emma Charles – a fifth-great-granddaughter of the school’s namesake Chief Sealth – presented the land acknowledgment, principal Ray Morales told the grads he is looking forward to “being witness to all of your greatness.” Student speaker Jerome Quiambao noted that the class began their high-school years in the heart of the pandemic, and for a while only knew each other as initials on a screen. His speech captured the unique ambience of this moment in young adults’ lives: “The future beckons while the past lingers in our minds.”
Staff speaker Maha Giundi, who teaches Culinary Arts, urged the grads to “carry forth the spirit of pride” and to stay hopeful. (added) Our video of the speakers begins with the principal:

And tonight brought a first for one of the district reps present at the ceremony: The Chief Sealth Class of ’24 was the first class that Seattle Public Schools Board director Gina Topp of West Seattle formally accepted on the district’s behalf, since she took office less than a year ago.

This year’s valedictorian was Dan Nguyen; salutatorian was Joy Ohta.

ADDED 11:14 PM: We’ve added our video of the speakers above. And here’s the district video of the entire ceremony:

The just-over-an-hour graduation begins just before 4 minutes in, with student musicians playing “Pomp and Circumstance” for the processional entrance.