By the time we get done with our graduation sections, we’re always deeply invested in the senior class.
Of course, we’ve followed some of them since they were young. We’ve had pictures of them racing frogs and turtles, being named Student of the Month, making a varsity team or getting an award. Some we’ve featured for 4-H or FFA or a sports section. And of course, some we just know, because it’s a small community.
Counting out 131 good senior sections was an inky process.
But then comes the graduation section. We feature more of them. We meet their parents as they drop off senior information. We learn family connections. We see pictures of them growing up and, if they went to the same school all 13 years, their kindergarten photos. We see the list of their accomplishments, their senior superlatives. We see which businesses want to fight over who gets to sponsor their photo.
The graduation sections are a large undertaking. And the OHS class of 2016’s senior section was recognized as the best special section, on any subject, by a paper in our category in the state.
We give copies of the section to seniors as a graduation present. Our pride in the section led to an odd scene Wednesday, when the special run for them came back with the individual photos “senior boxes” overset. We weren’t going to give that to the seniors, so we formed something of an assembly line with our newest employee, Erin, our high school intern, Jenna, and I switching the senior sections out with those in the copies that go to our NIE program. The fifth-graders still got to learn about the graduating seniors, but the higher-quality copies went to those who will stash them away as keepsakes.
I wrote my column this week about the choice to limit the senior features for Odessa to five this year. That decision was to preserve what makes those stories special: what students in the class think, not just what they’ve done.
The funniest part this year was that Brylee Duncan, graduating top of the class, listed the two things often imparted as advice as what she wishes she had known when she came in as a freshman: walk on the right side of the hallway, and that high school goes by fast. Her own advice was broader. Giving advice for incoming freshmen, or perhaps for parents to pass on to their incoming freshmen, makes the section useful beyond the class at hand. But remembering special homecoming dances, exciting gamedays and important trips will help students remember their time in high school fondly.
Along the same thought as advice, I also really like asking students about the hardest part of school, and how they handled it. I think that helps the community understand the struggles of these students, as well as gives a little insight behind the accomplishment to come out on top at the end. Asking what was most important to the students about what they did gives a lot of insight, too. I remember my surprise at hearing Maddie Murry, who was emphatic about volleyball going into high school, wasn’t playing any more. Her reasons why showed a lot of growth.
So, pick up a senior section, even if you don’t know (or know that you know) this year’s seniors that well. They’re our latest product as a community, and as you read, you’ll realize how proud you are.
Also, back to those overset papers: if you ever get a blurry/ink-spotted copy of something you were hoping to cut out/keep, bring it in and we’ll try to switch it out for a better version. And trust us, we’re as frustrated that it didn’t come back in better quality as you are.