A sea of black graduation caps and gowns fill Merriweather Post Pavilion. Excited grins decorate the faces of every senior in attendance. After four long years, their time to cross the stage and receive their diploma has finally arrived.
Graduation season has arrived with less than a month left of school for the senior class. On May 28th, all seniors will come together to celebrate completing high school and making the next steps toward adulthood.
“I would just like to remind all the seniors who are graduating this year that it’s an immense achievement. Everybody — your teachers, fellow classmates, parents, family members, guardians, whoever — is proud of what you accomplished. Celebrating that accomplishment is something that every graduate should enjoy this spring,” said graduation coordinator Mr. Detomo.
This graduation will be slightly different as it is Mr. Detomo’s second year assisting Mrs. Bopst with planning graduation, who had previously handled the responsibility alone.
“While you can organize graduation with one person, your family does not see you for the entire month of May. Having Mr. Detomo as the co-coordinator makes organization much more manageable. He has been an asset and I am thankful he said yes,” said Ms. Bopst.
Graduation planning begins before the senior class even stepped foot in the building. At the beginning of the school year, the graduation coordinators, Mrs. Bopst and Mr. Detomo, start by contacting Jostens, the company that organizes all caps and gowns for Howard County schools, to set up the ordering system for seniors.
This is also when Mrs. Bopst started setting up the lines of communication with the senior class.
Mrs. Bopst stated that one of the most frustrating parts of planning graduation is assuring that seniors are well informed. With many taking classes at Howard Community College or having work release, making sure every senior is in the building is practically impossible. As Mrs. Bopst said, “We have seniors EVERYWHERE!” Currently, she relies on email, Canvas, and keeping a comprehensive document of graduation information available on the Atholton website.
The big graduation decisions started after Winter Break, with a senior meeting held on January 3rd. This was when seniors started ordering their caps and gowns, vote for teacher of the year, and start thinking about if they would like to audition to perform at graduation.
Many seniors participate in graduation, whether it be introducing speakers, giving their own speech, or giving a performance. The majority of the speakers at graduation are students, with the exception of the teacher of the year, Mr. Novak, County Executive Calvin Ball, and Acting Superintendent Bill Barnes.
Additionally, diplomas will be awarded by Dr. Linfeng Chen, a member of the Howard County Board of Education. Student organizations, such as JROTC, Band, and Choir, will be apart of the ceremony.
The seniors voted Ms. Hinson as teacher of the year, and it was clearly well deserved. Upon walking into her classroom, seeing groups of seniors chatting with her and waiting as long as possible to leave is a common occurrence.
Ms. Hinson wants her message to the senior class to be: “I love you all so much. Seniors, you guys are going to do amazing, amazing things and I can’t wait to see what you all do.”
Atholton senior and National Honor Society president Naomi McKenna explained that the process of writing her speech with Samantha Nguyen, National Honor Society vice president, began early on.
They began writing in early January so they could have a rough draft by the end of the month. They spoke the speech aloud, adjusted where necessary, filmed it, and submitted their audition.
From this point on, graduation decisions are made as soon as physically possible. Once the date of graduation was confirmed, the senior calendar was created. This calendar features the exam schedule, rehearsal schedule, and the various celebrations for the senior class, such as the Crab Feast.
Other details, such as the seating chart, distribution of caps and gowns, and speakers and performers are ironed out during this time.
As the date looms closer, students and staff alike are becoming more and more aware of just how little time is left until the big day. Student speakers have turned in their speeches, the performers continue to practice for their moment in the spotlight, and count down to one of the most important days of their lives.
“It’s a mixed bag of emotions. It’s exhilarating to be taking a major step into an adult world and the responsibilities and freedoms that come with it, but there is also a bit of sadness and fear about leaving behind what I’ve known for most of my life,” said Atholton senior Alana Charny.
A sentiment shared by most seniors is missing the friends they have made within the halls of Atholton.
“I will miss the community I have found in this school, from my classes to my clubs, such as theater. I will miss the friends I don’t know well enough to keep in touch with forever but have become a part of my life nonetheless,” said Atholton senior Eva Mendoza.
Much of the senior class is looking forward to moving onto the next stage of their lives. Atholton senior Neel Singh explained, “I’m incredibly excited. I’ve been looking forward to starting college and beginning the rest of my educational and professional life since I started high school. There are certainly things I will miss but I’m looking forward to the next chapter.”
Overall, graduation is a time that stirs up many emotions. The seniors will be leaving Atholton behind and embracing whatever their future may hold. Principal Novak left the senior class with one piece of advice.
“The biggest thing I want them to do is celebrate the moment they have and really enjoy it. Be excited for that next step. It can be scary but the whole world is waiting for them. I can’t wait to see what they do and how they’ll make the world a better place.”