Photos by Andrea Johnson/MDN LEFT: Shalyn Stenvold will graduate Sunday from Our Redeemer’s Christian School. RIGHT: Pictured are Mariah Evenson, Kinsey Kaylor and Cambry Frantsvog, who will graduate Sunday from Minot High School. CENTER: Daniel Todd and Madison Brintnell will graduate from Bishop Ryan Catholic School on Sunday.

Minot seniors will be ready to take on the future when they graduate this Sunday.

Graduation is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Minot State University Dome for an estimated 407 Minot High School graduates. That is an estimate as final exams were continuing right up until the end of this week and the list of graduates wasn’t expected to be final until Friday.

Graduation ceremonies also are scheduled for two private high schools in Minot: Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Bishop Ryan Catholic School and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Our Redeemer’s Christian School.

Three Minot High seniors, who have all been active in athletics and other extracurriculars, said the high school has prepared them well for their careers, and their families have pointed them in the direction of their future careers.

“My mom and aunt have both been nurses their entire lives so I’m kind of just following in their footsteps,” said Cambry Frantsvog, who wants to pursue a degree in nursing at Minot State University.

Frantsvog said the health careers classes she took at Minot High and opportunities to see nurses in action also made her more interested in that career path.

Frantsvog said she is interested in working as a labor and delivery nurse but there are many career paths that a nurse could take.

“The cool thing about nursing is that you can work basically anywhere,” she said.

Kinsey Kaylor said her family’s experiences made her interested in pursuing a career in speech and audiology.

Her grandfather, a war veteran, had hearing loss but got a cochlear implant and is now able to carry on a conversation with the family, she said.

His audiologist has “just done wonders for him,” said Kaylor, whose mother works as a speech pathologist.

Kaylor said she plans to pursue her studies next fall at the University of Mary in Bismarck.

Mariah Evenson, who plans to attend Minot State in the fall, is interested in studying radiologic technology. Getting to take health careers classes at Minot High and job shadowing people in the field both made her interested in that path.

The Minot High seniors also have made time for fun during their senior year. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that their class spent some time learning online and, when they returned to in-person learning, had to wear masks for a time and contend with limitations on who could attend extracurriculars.

This year, different class sections have attended games and cheered loudly for their classmates. Evenson, Frantsvog and Kaylor said they have noticed that the energy level is up on the floor and off. Teachers and fellow students have all been supportive. They think being maskless and being able to see each other’s faces has also made things easier.

They also are looking forward to celebrating graduation and moving on to the next phase of their lives.

Our Redeemer’s graduate Shalyn Stenvold said her small school is special too.

“My class is pretty close,” said Stenvold. “We’ve pretty much all grown up together.”

Her family has always attended Our Redeemer’s Church and she has attended the school since she was in the sixth grade.

Stenvold said her class has done fun things to celebrate the end of the year, like a school-sanctioned senior prank day. The seniors decorated teachers’ classrooms with different holiday themes. One teacher’s room was made festive with Easter decor like Easter grass. Other kids in the school usually help clean up the mess afterwards.

Stenvold also has found time for her studies and has already earned more than a semester of dual credits through online classes at the same time she was finishing high school classes.

Stenvold had originally thought about pursuing a career in nursing but the COVID-19 pandemic made her hesitate.

“It’s a little hardcore for me,” she said.

Instead, she plans to live at home to save money and attend Minot State University and eventually pursue a career as a dental hygienist. She had a chance to job shadow others in that field and really enjoyed it.

She was also looking forward to a graduation party and celebrating with her friends.

Bishop Ryan Catholic School graduates Daniel Todd and Madison Brintnell both come from big Catholic families.

Brintnell, the eldest of eight, sometimes gives her siblings rides to school and they are in activities at Ryan together.

“I love it,” said Brintnell. “It’s always very entertaining.”

Brintnell plans to attend the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and is looking at a career in either civil engineering or computer science.

Todd, who also plans to attend UND, said his ultimate goal is to become a dentist.

Both Brintnell and Todd said they think going to Ryan has helped develop their Catholic faith.

Before he began attending the school in seventh grade, Todd didn’t know a great deal about Catholicism. But Ryan students, even though many are not Catholic, are immersed in faith. They also took a trip to the Washington, D.C., area for the March for Life trip this school year. During the journey they also had the opportunity to see famous sites like the Gettysburg Battlefield or the Lincoln Memorial and to attend Mass in different churches each day. Some students also serve as student chaplains. Brintnell said one of her favorite parts of attending Ryan has been the annual Catholic Schools Week, a week-long celebration of being Catholic.

They also have benefited from teachers who really care about them and know what is going on in their lives and a close-knit class.

The students are ready for college but home will also always play a big role. Brintnell thinks she will want to come back to Minot frequently to visit her friends and family.