But the class members also faced another challenge: a global pandemic their freshman year, which Senior High School Principal Staci Laird said made the world feel “topsy-turvy.”

Laird told the class members Saturday evening that as a result, they developed a resilience that enabled them to adapt and overcome.

“I want you to hold onto that resilience and wear it like a badge of honor,” she told the 194 members of the class during Saturday evening’s commencement ceremony.

That resilience was celebrated in Dodger Stadium during the school’s first evening graduation ceremony in recent years. The graduates, clad in red caps and gowns, gathered behind the end zone on the south side of the stadium before walking onto the field in pairs to start the ceremony.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Sydney Long of Fort Dodge gives her physician assistant Elizabeth Klinger, of Fort Dodge, a hug during the Dodgers commencement ceremony on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

The class had five valedictorians and each one spoke briefly to their fellow graduates.

“Go forth and change the world, but always, always remember where you came from,” Brock DeLanoit said.

Val Hensley reminded his classmates that life will not go entirely as planned.

“Throw at life the curve ball of self control, because that is all you can do,” he said.

Katie Rodamaker discussed the importance of bargaining and compromising.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
The Fort Dodge Senior High Class of 2024 tosses their caps in the air during the Dodger commencement ceremony on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

“Done right, compromising can leave you with everything,” she said.

Darylinn Cook said their senior year was full of lasts — the last time to run cross country, the last time to play in the orchestra, the last time for doing anything that was part of the routine of being a Dodger. But there was something positive to come out of each of those last times, she said.

“Each last opened the door to new firsts,” she said. “An ending is also a new beginning.”

Camden Doster talked about the importance of acceptance.

“Accept yourself for who you are and what you will become,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Milena Marsh, 2, of Fort Dodge, gives her aunt Abigail Brockman a congratulatory kiss after the Dodgers commencement ceremony on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

“Accepting the past is the only way to live in the present,” she added.

Josh Porter, participating in his first commencement exercise as superintendent of the Fort Dodge Community School District, commended the graduates for their “ability to handle tough things.”

“Graduation is about more than accepting a diploma, it’s about embracing the responsibility that comes with it,” he said.

“I can’t wait to see the incredible things you’ll accomplish,” he added.

Each graduate was called to the stage to receive their diploma from members of the district’s Board of Education. Relatives and friends sitting in the bleachers yelled and cheered as their graduate’s name was called. A couple of the graduates did a little dance step as they moved across the stage.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
The Fort Dodge Senior High Class of 2024 tosses their caps in the air during the Dodger commencement ceremony on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

Senior members of the A Capella Choir sang the national anthem at the beginning of the ceremony.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Class President Carter Anderson led the graduates in tossing their caps into the air.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Fort Dodge 2024 graduates, from left to right, Mackenzie Mcllrath, Carsyn Zehr, Liv Totten, Riley Rossow and Lilly Davis toss their caps inside Dodger Stadium on Saturday following the commencement ceremony.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Camden Doster, of Fort Dodge, gives one of the valedictorian speeches during Fort Dodge Senior HIgh's commencement ceremony on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Shytasia Green celebrates getting her diploma during the Dodgers commencement ceremony on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Mackenzie Mcllrath celebrates after the Fort Dodge Senior High commencement ceremony on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.