As the 2015 school year winds down, its time to attend graduation functions and events. The baccalaureate ceremony will start at 7 p.m tonight, Tuesday, May 19, in the RBHS gym.
David Bones, activities principal, said the two main speakers at baccalaureate are Isaac Welch and Betsy Poleman. Bones also said the two solo singers are Siry Pruin and Sarah Freyermuth.
Poleman is the senior class president, and Welch is the also a senior student council officer and is part of the RBHS Young Republicans Club. Pruin is a part of the RBHS choir and Freyermuth will be singing a solo and reflecting upon her time at RBHS.
“I am proud to be representing my senior class for one last time at baccalaureate,” said Poleman, who hopes this moment will be a memory she can make, “before I graduate and say my goodbyes to Rock Bridge.”
Baccalaureate is an ages old religious graduation tradition that was originally from Great Britain, but in the United States it is a non-religious ceremony held about a week before high school or college commencement events.
“I think it’s [baccalaureate] is a real kind of touching and final time for seniors to be together as a class at Rock Bridge High School,” Bones said.
Bones said Baccalaureate is a kind of a sentimental ceremony where Rock Bridge seniors can be together in the building before the actual day of graduation on Friday.
“Baccalaureate is one of my biggest graduation functions that I am looking forward to,” said senior Theron Howe, who is a member of the tennis team as well as band and orchestra, “simply because I can meet most, if not all my friends together and also get recognition for the hard work that I have put in these four years.”
Howe, who will attend Washington University in St.Louis, enjoys baccalaureate for the sole reason that he will be seeing his whole senior class for the last time at RBHS.
“I think what they [seniors] really enjoy is that it’s about them,” Bones said, “and that all the performers and singers are all Rock Bridge High School seniors.”
According to Bones, he thinks that the seniors will be proud of this occasion, because it’s all about them.
“I am going to baccalaureate because I want to be in my cap and gown in front of my school,” said senior Rohit Rao, who is the highest ranked varsity player on the RBHS tennis team and is a member of student council, key club and the Bruin Cup crew. “It gives me a sense of honor and pride that I have for my school.”
Roa, who will attend the University of Missouri, said his favorite part is that the whole senior class will be together for one last time.
“I think the best part of Baccalaureate for me will be, taking pictures with my caps and gowns,” Howe said. “This is why I think it [baccalaureate] has more meaning than the actual graduation ceremony itself because they just read of your names at graduation.”
He thinks baccalaureate has more meaning to it than the actual graduation because he can celebrate his years at Rock Bridge with his senior class.
“At the end of the day, Baccalaureate is going to be their [seniors] class celebrating their year and their time at Rock Bridge,” Bones said.
By: Keerthivaas Premkumar
Photo By: Keerthivaas Premkumar