As May approaches there is one thing on every senior’s mind: How can I spend as much time as possible in school before we leave?

Actually, it’s probably more like graduation.

As graduation nears, many seniors find themselves sending out invites to family members hoping they will attend the exciting ceremony. One thing many seniors might not think about,  however, is how graduation has changed over the years.

Luckily for you guys, I sat around the dinner table with my family and my friend and asked the parents what their graduation was like.

My dad graduated from a boarding school in Australia called Knox Grammer School. He does not remember even having a graduation, you can probably chock that up to old age, and claims,

“I didn’t even have a ceremony. I think I took my last final and just went home. I’m sure we must’ve had something, I just don’t remember.” Well that’s certainly helpful, Dad.

A local parent, Robin Moran, had different sentiments,

“We graduated outside at Gerry Berry Stadium. We were so lucky it was warm weather, since we graduated outside. There was another kid also named Robin with a similar last name to mine, but he was a boy. He sat right next to me. It was two Robins in a row when we graduated.”

Similar to Robin, my mom remembers most details from graduation. My mom graduated from a high school in New Mexico; she remembers how many kids and more importantly, their “senior trip”.

“We had about 800 graduates and the ceremony was held at the University of New Mexico basketball arena, The Pit. I went on a senior trip to Mazatlan, Mexico; we took a bus and then a train. The chaperones were college aged kids.”

Kali Maxwell, an Air Academy teacher who graduated from Cheyenne Mountain in 2011 says,

“Long and boring. Just like every other graduation. I didn’t even go to my college graduation if that says anything.”

The one common theme seems to be that graduation didn’t used to be a big ordeal. Contrary to those parents, most kids I know have grandparents or aunts and uncles flying in for this special ceremony. Another contrast seems to be the incessant amount of “grad parties’ most seniors have planned. This differs from my mom’s experience,

“There weren’t any organized ‘graduation parties’ and no one came in from out of state”.

Despite these differences I know many parents who are just as excited for graduation as their children are!

Air Academy’s graduation will be at 10 AM on May 17, 2018 and is held at Clune Arena at the United States Air Force Academy.