North, South and Central high school seniors participate in Grad Walk at Hoover Elementary School in Medford Thursday.

A caravan of shining yellow buses filled up fast at North Medford High School Thursday, two days before graduation, with giddy, triumphant members of the class of 2023 from all across Medford preparing for Grad Walk, which would take them back to the hallways of their childhood campuses. 

Inside was the unmistakable cacophony of excited teenagers. They fidgeted with their gowns and tassels. They knew they were riding to their former middle and elementary schools to walk those halls one last time. They knew younger students and former teachers would be lined up to cheer them on as they prepare to graduate and move into adulthood.

As the buses prepared to get moving, the seniors were informed by a representative of First Student that as a “graduation present” they were — this one time — free to yell, stand up and lean out the windows while the bus was moving.

At Hedrick Middle School, sixth-grader Natalia Munoz lined up with her fellow students along the lockers. She beamed her brightly colored braces as the line of black and blue gowns flowed by.

“It’s really cool knowing we’re going to be there in a couple years — we just have to survive this,” she said as a nearby teacher smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. 

Nataliee Roraback, a soon-to-be Central High School alumnus, was surprised to see her middle school transformed by her own growth.

“It’s definitely different. It’s a lot smaller than I remember. I got to talk to one of my favorite teachers, Ms. Potochnick,” she said.

Riding down Jackson Street, the bus drivers honked their horns, and seniors rose from their seats to wave from the windows at the sidewalks filled with proud parents and community members. From Red Robin to Game Swap, balloons glinted in the sun and people waved signs and banners. Lining the sidewalk in front of Hawthorne Park, police cars were parked with lights flashing, officers standing in front of their vehicles, phones out for photos, hands held high to wave at the buses. Seniors leaned out the windows and shouted at their friends and family as the buses moved past each other.

Sitting at the front of the bus, South Medford senior Max Downward found a reflective moment in the raucous joy around him.

“I never really took the time to recognize how small this community is. I recognize so many people out there,” he said.

Middle school was a difficult time, he said, and to come back as a different person and make a happy memory was meaningful. Next year, he’ll join his friends in attending Southern Oregon University, he said.

Once the buses reached Hoover Elementary, seniors were greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm. The little students waited in lines along the walls with their teachers, waving pom-poms and red and blue streamers, looking up with awe at the gowned and tasseled big kids.

South Medford senior D.J. Scott paused to rest his elbow on his little sister Emmy Scott’s head while his mom crouched to snap a picture. Like her fellow first-graders, Emmy said she was happy to see the seniors.

Jennifer Scott said she was struggling not to cry at the sight of her son in his gown and her little daughter’s anticipation finally realized.

“She’s been asking me all day, when is D.J. coming? We got her the Panther’s shirt, and she insisted, ‘I have to wear it because he’s a Panther!’” Scott said.

As the seniors continued to wind their way through the switchback hallways of Hoover, students found former teachers and greeted them at eye level with broad smiles. The littles screamed and chanted, “You did it, you did it!”

On a tarmac in the playground area, teachers led all their young students into seated rows. A keyboard and guitar were waiting at the front of the group. All the gowned seniors lined up in front of the littles and the whole group — with musical accompaniment — sang the Hoover school song.

At the back of the playground, North Medford senior Emma Jordan jumped from the swing set with her friends. She marveled at her own memory and connection to the schools. They smelled exactly the same as she remembered. It was a surprise to see the elementary school kids only a few years behind but a world removed from the seniors.

“They’re so much smaller than I thought they would be. I thought I was bigger then. I feel big now. It makes me think in a couple years I’ll think I’m small again,” she said.

Commencement for graduates of Medford Online Academy and Central High School will be held Friday, June 2, at Spiegelberg Stadium, with the MOA ceremony starting at 5 p.m. and the Central ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.

Seniors from South Medford will walk the stage for graduation at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 3, at Spiegelberg. North Medford seniors will walk at noon Saturday at the stadium.