St. Paul's Central High’s Class of 1995 Marks 30 Years with Joy, Music, and Memories

St. Paul’s Central High’s Class of 1995 Marks 30 Years with Joy, Music, and Memories

St. Paul, Minn. — Thirty years after tossing their caps into the air, Central High School’s Class of 1995 reunited in St. Paul for a night of music, memories, and reconnection. The reunion brought classmates back from across the Twin Cities and as far away as California, Florida, and New England, underscoring just how strong the bonds remain three decades later.

The energy of the night was set by DJ Boom, who filled the room with the sounds of the decade that shaped the class. “The ’90s and especially ’95 — that’s my favorite decade of music,” he said, beaming as the beats dropped. “I’m going crazy tonight. Everything from ’94, ’95, ’96 — I’m going all in. This is right up my alley, so I’m happy to be part of this.”

Asked if he had a message for the community, DJ Boom leaned into the microphone: “Hey, keep the faith. Keep your head up. Love each other, be well. That’s all I got.”

For Adam Lanvik, one of the organizers and a member of the Class of ’95, the gathering was about more than just fun. “Tonight is about celebrating our 30th reunion,” he said. “Folks have come from all over the country and from right here in the Twin Cities.

We had a 10-year, a 20-year, and now this — but our 25th was during COVID, so we missed that one. As we get older, there’s more of a thirst and desire to reconnect like this.”

Lanvik also shared how the class continues to give back: “One of the things we’re deeply passionate about is investing in our scholarship fund and the principal’s unrestricted fund at Central. Principal Sharisse, who’s Class of ’97, is doing a wonderful job, and we want her to know we support her. We want students at Central to know that we believe in them, support them, and wish them well.”

For Stephanie Currier (now Murphy), the special quality of her class was simple. “The people,” she said. “We were just all friends. Everybody got along with everybody. Didn’t matter your race, religion, where you lived — nothing. Everyone was kind.”

She laughed as she remembered the little details of high school life. “We had five floors to get from one class to the next, hardly any time, but you still recognized people and said hi. We used to play cards. Teachers would sometimes let us — as long as you had your work done.”

Her sister added, “We had a lot of good teachers. They made learning interesting. It wasn’t just read your books and take a test — it was interactive. And they didn’t push their politics on us. You were there to learn, and you learned.”

For Levi Martin, the reunion carried a more poetic weight. “Our year, 1995, was sad, beautiful, great, epic, unforgettable,” he said. “It was something that will live with me for the rest of my life.”

He reflected on what made the class special: “Our spirit. We were like fire — like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Flames of desire, flames of aspiration. We were like pirates charting uncharted seas, navigating to our destinies.”

Asked what message he had for today’s Central students, Martin paused, then said simply: “Find your light, and follow the path.”

As the music of the 1990s carried the classmates into the early morning hours, laughter mixed with nostalgia. They reminisced about detention slips, teachers who pushed them hard, and moments of failure that eventually turned into successes. But above all, they celebrated the same values that held them together then — and still do now: friendship, inclusivity, and resilience.

As Currier put it, “It’s important to catch up. Life happens — kids, marriage, everything. But when we come together, it’s like we pick right back up again.”

Thirty years on, the Central High Class of 1995 is still proving that the bonds formed in high school — in crowded hallways and classrooms filled with energy — can stand the test of time.

MinneapoliMedia