Members of Lehighton Area High School’s Class of 2021 had heard all the stories from previous generations.

Never having days off for snow. Never having delays for cold weather. Having to walk uphill both ways to and from school.

“You’ve got a pretty good comeback,” Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver told the class during commencement Saturday morning. “Tell them you went to school in the middle of a pandemic. I don’t know if anything is going to top that.”

Hundreds of family and friends packed Lehighton’s stadium to see the 179-member class get their diplomas after the ceremony was pushed back a day due to inclement weather Friday.

“One last kick in the shins for the Class of 2021,” High School Principal Sue Howland said of Friday’s rainout.

When the class did gets its one shining moment, Ashley Beers stopped her speech midway to pay off a bet.

“On the way home from school one day, I was trying to convince Randy Bongiorno that I wouldn’t cry over schoolwork for the next four years,” she said. “Not believing a word I was saying, he bet me one candy bar that I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Beers lost a candy bar, but what she earned over that same time period was a spot at the front of the class as Lehighton Area High School’s Class of 2021 valedictorian.

“Lehighton has shaped who I am and who we are,” she told her classmates. “Our successes have made us proud and ready to work for future successes. Most importantly, our failures have made us better people. One of the biggest things I learned from high school is that it’s OK to make mistakes. Our mistakes shape us into who we are and our successes make us proud of how far we’ve come.”

It may sound like a strange combination of thoughts to some, but for Kathryn Nanovic, Lehighton Area Class of 2021 salutatorian, how to hard boil an egg and the fact that most people are mediocre were two of the life lessons, neither of which you’ll find in a textbook, she recalled from her high school career.

“When looking at a macroscopic view of society, most of us, if not all of us, will fall into the middle; but that isn’t a bad thing,” Nanovic, who aims to be a doctor, told her classmates. “What if you can achieve greatness by being proud of the successes you have made and the struggles you have overcome? Over the past four years, I have learned that it doesn’t matter if society or any individual thinks you’re great, as long as you are proud of the work you put in and the person you are.”

Lehighton’s Class of 2021 surely overcame its share of challenges, many of them tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. But a return to a normal graduation setting Saturday morning signaled to many that things are headed in the right direction.

“In the beginning of the school year, I was convinced we would not have a normal graduation, so I am thankful to be here right now,” Danielle Miller, Class of 2021 president said. “Even though our junior year was cut off unexpectedly and our senior year strongly affected, I think the last few months have allowed us to grow and learn.”

Educational models that changed various times over the past two years and extracurricular activities that were delayed or postponed are just some of the obstacles students hurdled on their journey to receiving a diploma Saturday.

“I am certain that there was not a single part of anyone’s daily routine that wasn’t altered by this virus,” Lehighton Area High School Principal Sue Howland said. “It did force us all out of our comfort zones and pushed us all to make decisions based on gut feelings and instinct. We all learned a new words and phrases - like Zoom, hybrid learning and social distancing. This pandemic changed nearly every aspect of the educational model and yet our students were able to adapt, get through it, and earn a seat here tonight.”

The commencement ceremony included 17 early graduates and seven Lehigh Carbon Community College graduates who obtained a two-year associate degree while completing their high school requirements.

“This collaboration with LCCC has given our students a two-year head start on their working careers and secondary education,” Howland said.

Lehighton honored its class of 1971 on the 50th anniversary of their graduation. It was a special moment for Howland, who said many members of that class taught her when she was a district student and either remained local or returned to Lehighton at some point in their lives to raise their families.

“We stay because Lehighton is special,” Howland said. “We stay or return because this is a good place; a place in Pennsylvania where we can safely start and raise our families. We come back because we have a great school district, one that has a great vision, one that promises a fantastic public education for our children, a school district staffed with dedicated and invested teachers and support staff. Our children and students deserve nothing less.”

With the tassels flipped and caps thrown in the air, Lehighton’s Class of 2021 will begin paving their own paths and success, Nanovic said, can only be defined by each individual person.

“I may be mediocre, you may be mediocre, we may all be mediocre, but only by what is apparent to society as a whole,” she said. “To ourselves, most of us will be winners, most of us will work hard and find a way to contribute to the world and love doing it. The only problem is we have to find what it is that we love doing. Some of us have already found it, some have an idea, and some are utterly clueless. That’s OK. All we need right now is to focus on the next step. If we stumble and fall, then we’ll get back up and try something else. But we must not forget that whatever path we do decide to stumble down, we can never stop striving for greatness within ourselves.”