Cadey Shipman

With the first graduates of Minot North High School set to take center stage at the MSU Dome on Sunday afternoon, two of the school’s inaugural senior class reflected on the highs and memories from their brief time at Minot’s new high school.

Both Jack Starkey, the Class of 2025 valedictorian, and Cadey Shipman will be speaking at the graduation ceremony, capping off the brief but exciting period they and their 183 classmates got to play a part in, forming the tradition and identity of the Minot North Sentinels.

“When we got the news that the new school was opening our freshman year or sophomore year, I thought there was no way this building was going to be finished by the time we graduated. As it became more real since the new school has opened, I feel more like a Sentinel,” Shipman said. “The year has gone really well, it really feels like a community now, not just freshly painted walls. Everyone here is really positive and wants to be here, so I think it’s a huge upside. Getting to start new traditions and a culture basically from scratch has been pretty good.”

Shipman said Minot North wanted to set itself apart from Minot High School, which included bringing back royalty to events such as homecoming, prom, and the Snowball winter formal. Shipman participated in every sport she could her senior year, and said she especially relished beating MHS in volleyball at home at Minot North.

“I think homecoming week was just really fun, getting to do the fun dress-up days and showing people that it’s not embarrassing to have a little school spirit,” Shipman said. “I’m a very proud Sentinel. I wear the navy and silver with pride. I haven’t worn MHS Magi gear since.”

Starkey and Shipman said that while initially the walking distance between some of the classrooms took some getting used to, the real struggle came from finding their footing as a senior class in a full four year high school.

“Getting everyone involved. Nobody knew what to do. At Minot High you always had somebody planning stuff and telling you what to do. Here we didn’t have anybody as a role model and had to create things for ourselves,” Shipman said. “Now that we’re all together, it’s kind of hard because you have all these freshmen running around.”

The two seniors advised the next generations of Sentinels to put their best foot forward and stay involved in the school to foster connections to benefit themselves in the future.

“Don’t stress too much. It’s only high school. If you don’t do too well on a test, focus on the next stuff. Don’t stress over a bad grade,” Starkey said.

Jack Starkey