Park’s seniors gathered on the stadium field on the morning of Sept. 26 for the annual senior sunrise. This tradition is a way for the new class of seniors to come together and mark the beginning of their senior year.
Senior Nasira Ade, who spends most of her time taking full-time PSEO (Postsecondary Enrollment Options) classes off campus, said the morning felt like a chance to be part of the group again.
“I wanted to come to senior sunrise because I’m a full-time PSEO student and I don’t usually get to see my peers much at all,” Ade said. “It was nice coming here and enjoying the sunrise with the senior class, and it started my day off well.”
Assistant Principal Evelyn Lashley, who experienced her first senior sunrise this year, said she was impressed by how students took charge of the tradition. She said she enjoyed seeing the outcome of the students who came.
“(Senior sunrise) was cool because it’s very much a student-led event,” Lashley said. “When seniors brought it up to me, I was asking how I should plan, but they told me, ‘You don’t have to do anything, we do it ourselves.’ It got posted on Instagram, around the school and we had a great turnout. It was a sweet event and a great way to start the day.”
According to senior Renee Dominguez, the tradition is worth passing on to the following seniors because it is a good bonding time with your classmates. She said senior year is special and brings a unique closeness between everyone.
“I hope future senior classes continue this tradition because it’s a fun way to bring the whole class together and spend time with friends while celebrating making it to senior year,” Dominguez said. “The energy is different now, something about this year makes at least a lot of us all closer.”
Ade said she loved being a part of the planned morning. According to her, the best part was making memories with her friends that will last a long time.
“I loved coming here and watching the sunrise, even though there wasn’t much of one, but also taking pictures with my friends so I can look back on it 10 years from now,” Ade said.
According to Dominguez said her best memories from the morning came from doing fun activities with her friends. She said it was a good way to begin her last year.
“Some of my favorite parts of senior sunrise were taking pictures with my friends and getting breakfast together afterward. It was a fun way to celebrate the start of our senior year,” Dominguez said.
Lashley said the event brought together many circles of students from the senior class. She said the atmosphere was kind and full of energy, a celebration of reaching a milestone.
“I felt like a lot of different groups of friends and people from all corners of the senior class were here, hugging each other and excited to see people they don’t get to see every day,” Lashley said. “Everyone was really welcoming from what I saw, and it was good, very good energy. I’m very happy with what I saw this morning.”
