On Jan. 30, 12 Green Hope students walked the stage as mid-year graduates and entered the next chapter of their lives. The graduation was held in the Green Hope auditorium to commemorate the students receiving their diplomas. The ceremony included speeches from Mrs. Cleveland, the student body president Gabrielle Brown (‘25) and the procession of names from Mr. Matthew Mayse. It also featured performances from chorus and orchestra members. Afterwards, the PTSA provided snacks and decorations to honor and celebrate the students who graduated.
Mid-year graduation is an option offered to all seniors if interested, and allows students to graduate early after their first semester. The requirements to graduate earlier in the year are for all students interested to have received all their required credits for graduation. This includes taking a fourth English class, and an Economics and Personal Finance class in order to be considered for early graduation eligibility.
For the class of 2025, 12 falcons opted to graduate early; Lucas Bedont, Abigail Booth, Paige Froese, Garrison George, Briana Giordano, Ryan Muchnick, Wyatt Munsell, Caleb Namovich, Richard Orth, Veedhee Pandya, Marie Short and Amber Smith.
A senior who decided to graduate early, Paige Froese (‘25), spoke on her decision to do so. “I was feeling very burnt out from school and knew I couldn’t keep going. Every day I would get burnt out from school, and would take a 3-hour nap whenever I would get home,” she said. “I found out about mid-year graduation and decided that it was perfect for me.”
Froese, prior to graduating, emailed all of the colleges she applied to and checked to see if it would affect her application. After finding out that it didn’t, she decided to fill out the paperwork and then she was good to go.
She recommends this to others as she feels it’s an underused program and can be helpful to students. More specifically, ones that are academically in the right place to make it happen.
Froese plans to use this time to work full time as a greenhouse intern for BASF, a company that uses chemistry to create a more sustainable future. Her job will be to help with projects such as planting thousands of soybean seeds, going over inventory or just lending a hand with whatever they need. Graduating mid year allows Froese to work full time for 5-months and save as much money as possible for college.
The mid-year graduation serves as a sign of success and these students should be proud of the fact that they have graduated. This ceremony is meant to celebrate and applaud the 12 graduates who’ve moved on and into a new chapter.
