Graduation is easily one of the most important yearly events that happen on a high school campus. It is a huge milestone for the seniors who are about to head out into the real world. This is why graduation involves tremendous planning and preparation. 

Many people are involved in the planning and preparation for graduation. Some of these people include teachers, staff, and students. PVHS staff need as much help as they can get to make graduation as memorable as it can be. 

Mrs. Shockley helps prepare many events at PVHS, including graduation. When asked about how much effort she puts into graduation, she replied with “A lot, I’m here morning to night the week leading up to graduation. On graduation day, I’ll be here from 5 AM to 10 PM working.” She also stated, “Graduation set up is very time consuming and every year is different because you never know what’s going to come up, but we want it perfect for the graduates.” Shockley went on to explain. “On graduation night we usually have to set up about 1300 chairs on the field, set up 2 to 300 chair for the graduates, set up all the gates, and the stage.”

Shockley said that some other people who help out with set up are “The admin team, Mr. Odegard who is my supervisor, Mrs. Luck who is the 12th grade counselor, The 12 grade advisor who is Mrs. Daffer, the custodians, security, JROTC, and student council. When it comes to the student council, all the seniors help us make decisions for graduation.” Shockley explains, “The seniors have their Instagram and Facebook pages to keep them updated, we also have a Facebook page for the parents of seniors so we can keep them updated on the process as well. We try to involve the senior class as much as possible and the admin just guides them and makes sure everything is appropriate and affordable.”

Graduation is currently planned for May 28th at 8 PM, but things can change due to COVID. Shockley says that “We are hoping that the governor will open a little bit more so we can offer more graduation tickets. Due to the mandates, we are only allowed 250 people at one place but we have 260 graduates, and including parents we’re looking at around 600 people.” The 2021 graduation may have to split into two sections so everyone who wants to attend can. 

Although we are experiencing some restrictions, Shockley, and everyone else who helps out, is trying their hardest to make this year’s graduation the best it can be. The graduates are the number one priority and they deserve a night dedicated to them and their success.