Graduating from high school is a major milestone, and as students reminisce about their achievements and memories from the last 12 years, it can also be an extremely nostalgic and bittersweet time of life. Many of these seniors have grown up together ever since they first met in elementary school, and this ceremony marks the moment when they will separate to follow their own paths, whether that be attending college, taking a gap year, or even taking on a job. This year, the class of 2023 will be graduating and receiving their diplomas on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at Samford University.
More than serving as the moment when these seniors begin to chart their own journeys, graduation celebrates how far these seniors have come. Not only have all of these graduates successfully survived high school even through the COVID-19 Zoom meetings, but they have also worked as volunteers, leaders, and employees, all the while maintaining and growing their academic achievements. Many of these graduates will be wearing cords and medals for various societies and awards, including the Seal of Biliteracy, different language societies, Mu Alpha Theta, Choral Honor Society, Rho Kappa Honor Society, National Speech & Debate Honor Society, and so on. To make the process of distributing of all the medals and graduation caps and gowns go smoothly, the point person for graduation has been Mrs. Blocker. She has been leading the entire graduation process to ensure that everything is in order as we get closer and closer to the big day.
However, awards and cords are not the only ways that VHHS plans to congratulate the class of 2023. On April 19th, 2023, VHHS had School Awards Day, which celebrated the leadership and impact that these athletes and leaders have had in the community and commemorated them for their service and dedication, whether that be by saving people from a house fire or by winning first place in a state economics competition. Additionally, on April 26, 2023, VHHS plans to host Scholarship Awards Day, during which the school will publicly recognize the scholarship money and college acceptances that the class of 2023 has received. That day, VHHS will also have Senior Class Day, during which the senior class will present the class song, the class poem, and finally, the senior class slideshow.
As with every major milestone, there are many traditions often associated with graduation. At VHHS every year, seniors get together to take a panoramic picture just as they have for the past decade. However, Vestavia has also been willing to try out new traditions. This year, many seniors went to their own respective elementary schools to meet with old teachers in the Senior Parade. Not only was this nostalgic for seniors since they were able to walk through the hallways that they walked through as kids, but also because they were also able to chat with the many elementary teachers who were a big part of their lives. However, the Senior Parade wasn’t the only bit of reminiscing that these seniors did. Seniors were also given the opportunity to read a letter written by their 8th-grade selves that often included many of the dreams and goals they held in their middle-school years.
The class of 2023 has only 19 more days left of high school (not including the days for senior exams). While graduation can be either an exciting or disappointing way to end the year, and some seniors' paths away from high school may still be undecided, one thing is for certain: not only has VHHS shaped the lives of this class, but this class has also shaped VHHS through their leadership, kindness, and initiative.
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