Senior traditions invite reflection this year

Every senior class at the Episcopal Academy spends years watching the classes ahead of them paint their cars, carry nostalgic backpacks, and gaze at their senior-day posters hung on campus fields, courts, or the athletic center. Then, one fall, it is finally their turn. As the class of 2027 experiences this transition, they enjoy senior traditions to celebrate their last year together. Everyone reflects on how far they have come, preparing for what lies ahead in the future. 

Director of Student and Community Life Andrea Yu has seen that shift happen with class after class. “There’s something about senior year that I think makes people realize that this is their class,” she says. In her new role this year, Yu works with form deans and class councils to make sure events are well run and engaging for all students.

Much of the planning comes from the seniors themselves. Senior Class President Sheperd Buccini ’27 has been especially involved, viewing his role as bringing the grade together, whether that means organizing events or making sure everyone’s opinion is well-represented. Student council member Dominique Barrist ’27 explains that while the traditions stay largely the same each year, every class gets to make them their own. “It’s been really fun to see how they’ve done it in the past and make it more geared towards our class,” she says. “[Traditions] show me the journey I’ve had through the school years. From being a kindergartener watching the seniors have these traditions, to actually being able to participate myself just is just so fulfilling,” says Jack DeSilets ’27. From the backpacks that people choose to first day photos, there’s something uniquely personal about how each senior class carries on the numerous colorful traditions of Episcopal Academy seniors.

The traditions began as soon as the first day of school, when seniors arrived with painted cars and children’s backpacks. For Barrist, who has been at EA since pre-K, the backpacks carry extra meaning. “I got one that looked exactly like the one I had when I first came in pre-K,” she says. “It’s a really good full-circle moment for everyone to reminisce and realize how far you really have come.”

Senior Sunrise is another highlight of the fall. Seniors gather early in the morning to share breakfast and watch the sun come up together, and this year, Student Council put its own spin on the tradition by making it a pajama day. It was the event Cai Parker ’27 was looking forward to most. “I don’t usually wake up early to see the sunrise,” Parker says. “Waking up early would allow me to see my friends, have some good breakfast, and see the sunrise.” 

Another thing seniors look forward to is their final Homecoming. The seniors always bring lively energy to the event, as they take advantage of their final fall dance. This energy connects the upperclassmen with the underclassmen and creates an inviting environment for students of different grades and social circles. These traditions matter most because of who they bring together. Yu has noticed that seniors are more willing to step outside their usual friend groups, and students who are not usual attendees of such events suddenly feel as though they cannot miss the last ones. Parker has seen this firsthand. “Senior traditions really allow a class to fully come together for that last moment,” Parker says. “I’ve met a lot of people this year that I really haven’t spoken to for the past two years.”

Buccini saw that same spirit while organizing the senior “Thunderdome” mural, which was open to anyone in the grade who wanted to help. “Even though it’s temporary, it’s something people can look at every day and remember that this is our grade,” he says.

For many seniors, the traditions also bring a sense of reflection. Students who have been at EA for years have spent most of their lives watching older classes take part in them. “A lot of the traditions are just things that you’ve been watching people do your whole life,” Barrist says. “But when you finally get to that point, you’re like, ‘Wow, we’re here.’”

That feeling only grows as the year goes on. For the Lower School’s annual Halloween parade, the class collectively voted on a grade-wide costume theme: zoo animals. 

The tradition Buccini is the most excited for is the senior shield, a class project that combines the talents of students who paint, woodwork, and more. They all work together to make a crest that embodies the class. “It’s something that you can always come back to and see,” Buccini states. “Even after 20 years, you can see something like that and just remember the grade.”

The second semester, highlighted by Senior Assassin, brings even more fun before their high school years finish. “[Senior Assassin] is definitely my favorite tradition,” says DeSilets. “It makes the school year so much more fun while still being competitive.” In the student-run game, each senior is assigned a target to eliminate by squirting them with water, and the competition continues until only one player remains. Seniors have to get involved and strategize. Some ask parents for permission to camp out in their target’s home. Some hide out in cars. Some sprint across the campus green. However the participants choose to channel their inner hitman, the game brings members of the class together through friendly competition. Additionally, Prom and Lawn Day give seniors other chances to celebrate their time together as a class, in both formal wear and bathing suits. “[Traditions] allow for a sense of community to be fostered. These traditions allow for multiple generations of EA students to connect because they’ve all experienced the same thing,” reaffirms DeSilets.

As exciting as these moments are, they also remind seniors that their time at EA as a student is coming to an end. With college applications underway and graduation on the horizon, traditions give the class a chance to slow down and simply enjoy the time they have left. Yu hopes that the memories stay with them long after they leave. “Hopefully all of these moments and memories create a lasting connection,” she says, “so [that] when you graduate, you still think of EA as home.”

From painted cars on the first day to the final walk at graduation, senior traditions give the class of 2027 a way to mark their last years together. They bring together students who might never have crossed paths, remind seniors how far they have come as a grade, and give them memories to carry into college and beyond. For the underclassmen watching, they are also a reminder that, one day, it will be their turn too.