Everyone deserves his or her day in the sun. Fortunately, seniors at Elkhart High School are given that opportunity at the rise of their final year.
In fact, senior year accounts for various exhilarating activities that only seniors are allowed to partake in. Senior Sunrise is among the first of those many. To explain, Senior Sunrise is a special event where seniors gather early in the morning to watch the sunrise together, symbolically marking the beginning of one’s final year of high school. This event is meant to bring special memories to Elkhart High School’s current senior class–and, it did just that this past Friday, Sept. 27. Food, drinks, music, “door prizes” and games were provided for hundreds attending this year’s event on the soccer field, giving seniors great gifts of memories to reminisce over in the future.
In anticipation, several seniors could only guess at what the morning would hold. Senior Laylah Yoder notes that she was excited for all it had to offer. “I anticipated seniors to gather together to watch the sunrise!” And, that’s exactly what occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Prior to the actual sunrise, seniors created lots of memories taking pictures, playing cornhole, and jamming to music–all while drinking hot cocoa. “This was a very special moment for us seniors.”
Not every aspect may have fulfilled one’s expectations, but there was no doubt that the experience was special. Fellow senior Ella Huff says, “I had a blast at Senior Sunrise! I enjoyed taking pictures with my friends,” she adds. “But, I was anticipating a longer sunrise. Overall, it was so fun creating memories that will last a lifetime!” Classmate Macie Leitch agrees, noting that she enjoyed the photo props the most and took a generous number of pictures with friends. She expounds: “Students gathered on the soccer field with photo frames and enjoyed a great time together.” However, Leitch’s joy did not stop there. “My expectations were exceeded because of the raffle. I thought that was super cool!”
Not all students, though, were wanting to be that energetic during so early an hour. In fact, some stated that they enjoyed the rather relaxing atmosphere, just spending time with companions sitting in the bleachers or on blankets. Senior Cade Tyrakowski was one of them. “I enjoyed being able to just hang out with my friends. I anticipated something chill and laid back, which it was.” In the end, watching the ravishing sunrise with one’s peers brought about so many new connections and conversations with others never expected.
Student Government Representative Zaria Stevens created the Senior Sunrise shirts for the event. Senior Tristan Bryson lent a hand in creating lots of memories for seniors–taking photos for others and sharing these photos for all to have communal access to in order to look back on. A sense of unity and shared memory was built throughout this experience.
New beginnings and inspiration now arise for seniors.
