Tracy Area High School’s Class of 2021 received their diplomas Sunday — inside, as time-honored traditions resumed
By Per Peterson
One year after a mandated break from tradition, 52 Tracy Area High School seniors who make up the Class of 2021 received their diplomas inside the high school gym during Sunday’s 128th TAHS Commencement Exercises.
Unlike last year when the seniors went through an outdoor ceremony in the high school parking lot, this year’s class took part in a more traditional ceremony, complete with a gymnasium full of friends and family members.
In an emotional welcome, senior Angie Yang addressed her fellow seniors to open Sunday’s ceremony by defining “senioritis.”
Yang said “senioritis” is defined as a “supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school, characterized by a decline of motivation or performance.” Throughout this year, Yang said, seniors were repeatedly talked to about “senioritis.” “I could not begin to tell you how many times this class has procrastinated,” she said. “The papers that were assigned were not written until the night before. In fact, this speech was written seven hours prior to the deadline. Graduation seemed to be the only deadline that could not get here fast enough, yet here we are. This year was different, even so, we made our senior year as normal as possible. Today, we sit here on this stage with our masks on. Even a pandemic couldn’t stop the class of 2021 from graduating, and I believe that this prepares us for the bigger accomplishments that we will achieve later in life.”
After Yang’s welcome, Rachel Przybilla took the podium and reflected on the past years she shared with her fellow seniors.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.