JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)—The Hampton High School Class of 2025 walked the stage on Saturday, concluding their perseverance through Hurricane Helene’s egregious challenges.

Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding in Hampton, resulting in significant permanent damage to the high school and an uncertain future for its students.

“We didn’t have school for two months,” senior Briley Davis said. “You know, that’s a big thing for us that we missed out on so much.”

When class returned, students were placed at a local elementary school, leaving many seniors concerned about how they would receive their diplomas.

“Graduation, it was like the biggest [question] of them all,” senior Wyatt Robinson said. “Other than where everybody else was going to school.”

“Back to Covid, whenever they had their graduation at the Stateline Drive in,” Davis said. “And I was concerned if we had to do that again. What we were going to do, nobody knew.”

Students held their heads high while their community reminded them they were Bulldogs, no matter where they were learning from.

“Everybody’s pushing us forward,” Davis said. “Everybody’s happy to see us graduate. They’re happy to see Hampton come back and excel from the disasters that we had. And it’s great.”

“I was also glad that ETSU was like, ‘Hey, we’ll let you use the Martin Center to be able to graduate,'” Robinson said.

Many seniors agreed that weathering the lows brought them a new sense of empowerment.

“We know that we can go through treacherous roads and still make it out through the end,” Davis said.

“If they made it through this year, they can make it through anything,” Hampton High School Principal Kayla Clawson said.

Clawson said that the school is working to rebuild and hopes future classes have a more ‘normal’ experience.