About the ‘Unforgettable Class of 2021’ project

The Class of 2021 has an important story to tell.

The Review-Journal is giving some of this year’s finest graduates a place to tell it.

To gather memories and impressions from the Las Vegas Valley’s second graduating class of the pandemic era, the Review-Journal reached out to every public, private and charter high school in Clark County — nearly 100 in all.

Our request to each principal: Nominate one deserving, graduating senior to represent the school and class in a special project with a title derived from a moniker students chose themselves: “The Forgotten Class of 2021.”

We are calling our tribute “The Unforgettable Class of 2021,” a title designed to reflect both the sacrifices graduates made and the strength they exhibited during an educational year like no other.

“A great many of the valley’s graduates attended school solely through a computer, from home, for more than a year. Some will graduate after not seeing the inside of a classroom for roughly the final one-third of their high school years,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “Those who were able to attend school in person, like their online-only peers, still dealt with restrictions, canceled activities and less social interaction. Despite these challenges, they overwhelmingly rose to the occasion.”

We asked each nominee to fill out a questionnaire about their experiences so our readers could hear firsthand what it was like to suddenly be thrust into distance learning and to deal with the isolation and losses that became part of their legacy. Each nominee was invited to have a portrait taken by a Review-Journal staff photographer. (Some students completed the questionnaire but did not have their portrait taken.)

The response to our request was incredible, with nearly 84 percent of the schools we contacted participating, including 91 percent of public and charter schools.

We sincerely hope that through their words, you will reach a greater understanding of what it was like to be a high school senior in a year when the “forgotten” became the “unforgettable.”

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at aappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0218. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter. Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.