Senior events and privileges make a return with the class of 2022
By Jack Veenema
The graduating class of 2022 will get to experience the senior events and privileges as Eastern Christian decided that there is now a safe way to carry these out with the COVID-19 pandemic being brought under control.
For the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021, there were little to no special privileges or trips for the seniors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, school is finally starting to get back to normal, and with that comes some special perks for the senior class of 2022. These include things like off campus lunch, senior field trip, senior cruise, and the senior banquet. Dean of junior and senior students, Mr. Phil Verrengia, had a big part in these events making a return.
In an interview with him, he emphasized the important role that head senior sponsor, Mrs. Engelhard, had in helping him bring everything back. He talked about pushing for off campus lunch during the second semester last year, and he asked High School principal, Mr. David Intlekofer, if events could come back fully this year.
As things began to open towards the end of the 2020-2021 academic year and the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year,
“Mrs. Engelhard was the driving force in putting together the senior celebration”
for the class of 2021, he says. Some events, like the senior cruise, are still being put together as we speak, and things are going pretty well so far.
When asked about the possibility of the senior events being cancelled later in the year, Mr. Verrengia said,
“At this point we are moving forward as everything will happen, but there is always a chance something changes.”
He said that we never know what will happen in the future, if rules change in Washington D.C. and the seniors can’t go into museums or other places that they would have regularly, then we would have to revisit our other options.
Mr. Verrengia also said he is very hopeful about graduation this year, saying we could do it like last year or even have an almost normal ceremony. He said,
“it depends how we can space people out.”