In a typical year, seniors would have celebrated May 1st by wearing college sweatshirts and counting down in the hallway at the end of their last official school day. It’s the day by which most colleges require a decision from admitted students, and also the day after which seniors are exempt from non-AP classes. As such, it marks the beginning of the end for John Cooper seniors, kicking off a season that’s typically full of graduation festivities.

This year, of course, May 1st looked much different. With school closed and social distancing guidelines in place, the Cooper community was forced to find new ways to commemorate the Class of 2020 and make the graduation season as special as possible.

On May 1st, students were told to decorate their cars with the colors of their future university and come to school so that they could have a socially distanced version of the countdown they’d been looking forward to all year. Once at school, they were greeted by cheering teachers and faculty, who held up signs and clapped as the seniors drove past the middle and upper schools. After the festive parade, students gathered in the parking lot and sat on top of their car roofs, waving at each other, taking photos, and laughing. As the clock struck 3:25, the end of the school day, honks and cheers filled the parking lot.

The faculty at Cooper truly stepped up to make the graduating class feel special. From holding up posters for the car parade to placing commemorative yardsticks in every senior’s lawn, teachers, coaches, and staff have gone above and beyond to recognize the Class of 2020. The seniors themselves have also banded together to brainstorm new ways to celebrate.

Events like Senior Dinner typically offer the senior class an opportunity to be recognized for their achievements and celebrated as individuals. This year, two students devised a new way to celebrate the Class of 2020 using social media. Alexis Eckerson and Grace Gawronski began an Instagram page (@jcsseniors2020) which posts members of the senior class alongside the school they plan to attend in the fall. The posts include their future majors and sports teams. When asked what inspired them to create the Instagram page, Alexis responded that they “wanted to create a platform to showcase achievements of the class of 2020” and thought of Instagram as “a great way to bring people together!” They both have experience with editing and media, as Grace Gawronski has worked on the school’s yearbook and Alexis Eckerson helps manage the Cooper athletics social media.

Even with all that’s going on right now, the John Cooper community is still finding ways to celebrate the Class of 2020. From teachers cheering them on during a car parade to their college decisions being celebrated on Instagram, from improvising new traditions to finding ways to hold onto old ones (Zoom senior tea, anyone?), this year’s senior class has had an exceptional and memorable second semester.