This year at College Park Highschool, the entirely new administrative team has thought about no longer letting seniors pick who hands them their diploma. Instead, they want counselors to hand out diplomas. We understand that there are multiple reasons for their choice e.g. timing, the ceremony taking too long can affect older and younger people in the audience and logistics of planning. Seniors choosing their teachers has been a tradition for DECADES at this school, and taking that privilege away from the class of 2025 takes away from the school culture. 

  Like all the seniors who have come before us, this years seniors have waited for years to walk the stage at graduation. Choosing who hands us our diplomas is a major privilege for College Park seniors, and is what makes graduation even more special than it is. Over the four years that seniors have spent at CPHS, we form bonds and relationships with our teachers that push us to be better and work harder. In some cases, these teachers are the reasons that we come to class at all, and can be the only reason we want to learn more and do the work. This year, the administrators want to let the seniors respective counselors hand them their diplomas. The problem with that is that there is little to no “bond” with the counselors. Students rarely interact with their counselors, and when they do, it is brief and very rarely emotionally impactful to the student. (No disrespect to the counselors, they help students sort out their issues; however, the four year relationship between a counselor and a student is much different than a four year relationship with a teacher and student) 

With graduation being only four months away, seniors are really looking forward to walking the stage and having their diplomas handed to them by someone who has majorly impacted their high school journey.

HELP THE CLASS OF 2025 MAINTAIN THE CPHS TRADITION OF CHOOSING WHO HANDS THEM THEIR DIPLOMAS!!