Cheers rang through the Sto-Rox School District earlier this week when high school seniors donned their caps and gowns for a final walk through each of the three school buildings.
The soon-to-be grads started at the upper elementary school, continued to the primary center and finished at the junior/senior high school, pausing for photos and one last childhood visit to the primary center playground. Students and teachers from each building lined the halls to wish them farewell with signs, hugs and high-fives.
Monday’s walk ended in the junior/senior high school auditorium with fanfare and motivation from Principal Asia Davis, Superintendent Erwin Weischedel and Michael Hauser, special assistant to the superintendent, all of whom spoke to the class of 2025.
For the past three years, senior Eve Barrow watched as upperclassmen completed their Senior
Walks. This year, she got to experience it for herself, saying her own goodbyes to the school district that she has attended since second grade.
“It was sad at most, because it’s like, I’ve been [in these buildings], and it took me a long time to get where I am today,” she said. “But it was honestly beautiful at the same time that I made it this far.”
The event fused Viking school spirit and graduation sentimentality, allowing students to visit past teachers and younger classmates.
Barrow said one of the most heartwarming parts of the walk was watching the elementary school students see their future as seniors and the seniors revisiting their past.
“It’s honestly crazy, because I used to look at [the graduating seniors] like, ‘Oh, they’re still, like, grown and stuff,’ and now I’m in the exact same position they’re in,” she said.
Sto-Rox Spanish teacher Ben Engelhard started this tradition back in 2017 after seeing Facebook posts of senior walks held in other high schools.
Each year, Engelhard works hard behind the scenes to put the event together. He works with the transportation secretary to coordinate buses to take the seniors between the three schools, rehearses five or six times with the marching band’s drumline to perfect the cadences that Sto-Rox students know and love from football season and works with the student media yearbook staff and videography classes to make sure the event is well-covered.
He credits his fellow teachers too in bringing the event to life. Teachers across the grade levels are instrumental in helping the younger students make the signs and line the hallways to cheer on each graduating class.
One sixth grade teacher, Rebecca Ray, takes and holds onto photos of her students. When those same students come back for their Senior Walks, she not only hangs their sixth grade photos on the walls, but she also gives each student an individual envelope with their printed photo.
“You walk into the primary center, and you know you’re dealing with kindergarteners, first graders, second graders, third graders,” Sto-Rox Communication Specialist Dan Rinkus said. “Those teachers are so focused on what they’re doing, sometimes they don’t get to see what those students become.”
This year’s emotional and successful Senior Walk moves the senior class one step closer toward graduation.
The graduation ceremony is set for 7 p.m. Friday, May 30, at the junior/senior high school football stadium. It is open to anyone who wants to attend and will be livestreamed. Security procedures will be in place.
In the event of bad weather, the ceremony will be moved inside to the high school gym. In that case, each student would be given four tickets for their guests. Extra tickets would not be available.
On the day of graduation, seniors can look forward to a community-sponsored final class breakfast served at 8 a.m. and mandatory graduation practice to follow at 9 a.m.
“Graduation is a great time of year for the district, because it shows the rest of the community what we’ve been working on and how these seniors have progressed,” Rinkus said. “It’s a time to celebrate.”
Photos courtesy of Sto-Rox School District
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