TikToks and Tassels: Seniors Celebrate With Virtual Decision Day

Back in the fall 2016, members of the Class of 2020 were just freshmen and they didn’t have a strong notion about where they’d end up upon graduation. Now these same students are part of the newest graduating class of North Atlanta. To be sure, this year’s seniors are not celebrating graduation and college decisions in a traditional sense, but they haven’t been forgotten. On May 8, North Atlanta posted a Virtual Decision Day on YouTube, so the seniors would be able to officially announce their college plans.

In the video, students creatively show off where they will be attending school in the fall. Some made Tik Toks and most were decked out in their new school gear. Seniors are able to share this video to all of their loved ones and be proud of the accomplishment of graduating high school. “We are so proud of them and all the hard work the seniors put in to get to this moment,” said college counselor Aja Murray. “It’s all about the seniors, so let’s celebrate.” 

Still in the works is a video where all of the seniors are going to pass the diploma. The idea is that seniors dressed in their cap and gown will reach off-screen to get their diploma and then pass it off-screen in the other direction for the next senior to “grab.” “It’s really hard to stay connected to our seniors this spring and we just want them to feel special and not forgotten,” said college counselor Jessica Cawley.

Meanwhile, some seniors have been celebrating in person while maintaining a social distance. From making signs with their college colors for each other to just reminiscing about high school memories, seniors are still finding a way to commemorate this special time. “My friends are going to make it so hard to leave and go off to college,” senior Isabel Archer said.

The distance between the seniors and the North Atlanta building these past few weeks doesn’t change the fact that they are the graduating class of 2020, and they will soon be moving on to their next chapter in life. While they may not have gotten the grad season they expected, this crop of seniors will always have a historically unique grad season to look back on. To be sure, their Decision Day was virtual. But their accomplishments and the mark they’ve left behind will always be enduringly real.