Senior send off

Photo provided by: Stephanie Kauffman

The 2021 senior class will graduate at the University of Central Florida’s Football Stadium on Monday, May 24. The day that seniors have been waiting for has gone through multiple phases of planning, coming to a conclusion that will meet the needs of all students and families.

Every senior looks forward to graduation, with it being the biggest event of the calendar school year. It represents the end of 13 years of formal education and the start of the journey into adulthood. In accordance with many other events this year, senior graduation is going to look different. 

With restrictions on social distancing still in place, and an enormous amount of graduates with families, there had to be a compromise if graduation was to take place at Lake Brantley High School. In February, the school notified seniors of two different graduation options, and the class of ‘21 was tasked with voting on the type of graduation they would be having. The first option offered was a classic graduation on the football field: the entire class would graduate together, with the catch being that every graduate could only bring two guests. 

“I chose to have a graduation with my whole class because it’s the closest to a normal graduation,” senior Melissa Sargent said. “Besides, I’m constantly in the auditorium anyways, and being on the football field would feel more special to me.”

Some students, however, preferred the second option the school was offering for graduation. This option allowed graduates to bring more guests in a style similar to that of last year’s individual graduation slots, meaning students could have their entire families watch them graduate. 

“I felt like having the people who mattered the most, like my family, was the most important thing in making my graduation feel complete,” senior Joanna Lim said. “As cool as it’d be to have more of a ‘traditional’ graduation, it’s kind of difficult to expect in such an untraditional year.”

Ultimately, the campaigning came to an end with an unexpected conclusion, the class of 2021 would have the graduation they had originally imagined. On Monday, May 24, the senior class will be graduating at the University of Central Florida’s football stadium, and students would be allowed to bring more than two guests. As put by the graduation notice sent out by the school, this outcome is “the best of both worlds.” However not all students responded enthusiastically to the new plan.

“I was really hoping to get my ‘send off’ at Brantley,” Sargent said. “Although, I am very happy that others with bigger families will be able to invite more people. I know that it’ll be very fun and exciting no matter what though.”