Graduation season is a celebration of youth completing school and closing out another year — but for many of our young people, it isn't easy. Rapid City has long had one of the widest gaps in the state between Native American and non-Native graduation outcomes, and statewide, roughly half of Native American students in South Dakota finish high school. Behind every number is a kid in North Rapid who had real reasons to stop showing up, and didn't.
That's why a buffet line matters more than it looks like it should. Celebrating the students who crossed the finish line — with food, family, and the whole workforce team in the room — is part of how we tell the next class it's possible.