Members of the senior class will end their final year of high school with a bang — just around the corner lies the long-awaited Beach Day, Awards Night and, of course, graduation and Grad Night.
Tomorrow night, the Class of 2014 will celebrate its senior prom at AT&T Park. The $450 million, 41,000-capacity stadium is traditionally home to Major League Baseball, but for one night — May 31 — one of its lounges will be transformed into a dance floor.
Senior Parth Kejriwal said it was “pretty awesome” that the senior class was able to book AT&T Park for prom, and he was most looking forward to “the experience of having a baseball park all to ourselves.”
Senior class vice president Ingrid Hong added she is excited about the unique amenities AT&T Park offers.
“It’s tradition that senior prom be somewhere in San Francisco, but we wanted to find somewhere that was iconic to the city rather than just a hotel,” Hong said. “AT&T Park fit our description perfectly and I think the location will attract anyone who is on the fence about going.”
Hong and the other senior class officers have organized guided tours of the stadium, access to stadium seating, an outdoor patio with a fire pit and JumboTron access that allows students to display photos on the big screen.
Senior class treasurer Rick Roy said one of their goals is to improve the event from last year.
“We are bringing in better food and making sure we have sufficient accommodation like being able to fit enough dance space and tables for all the attendees this year,” Roy said.
However, the senior class officers did run into some
financial adversity along the way. For this reason, starting bid prices were $140 for all students, even those with ASB cards. Compared to previous years, this is a high cost.
Senior Talent Show raises money
The senior class also hosted the senior talent show on May 20. The event takes place every year to help fund senior class activities such as prom and Beach Day.
The show was won by seniors Raj Thakker, Rohan Hardikar, Kush Maheshwari, Neel Tiwary, Rick Roy, Nikhil Goel, Priyanka Krishnamurthi, Ruchi Jain, Trishika Shetty, Nina Jayashankar and Sanam Mohan, and juniors Mounika Narayanan and Meghna Chakraborty and sophomore Sanam Mohan for their Indian dance act.
Teacher Hana Chen and attendance secretary Mandy Armes and seniors Brandon Le and Mostafa Rohaninejad judged the show.
“[The talent show] went really well,” Roy said. “We blew all
expectations out of the water. We sold close to 150 tickets and
made about $1,200 and it was a big success.”
Graduation Speakers
This year, the administration has chosen six speakers to speak at graduation: Nikhil Goel, Robert Eng, Amanda Lee, Jason Li, Mohith Subbaro and Manini Desai.
Grad Night back on campus
The senior class will also be going on the annual beach senior beach day trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on Monday.
Finally, Grad Night comes back to campus this year after being held at Great America last year. Following the June 5 graduation ceremony, which starts at 6 p.m. on Benny Pierce Field, seniors will bring their high school experience to a bittersweet close.
The event is headed by chair parents Sarah Rothenberg, Sushama Thakker, Katherine Tseng and Cindy Zuccarino.
According to Zuccarino, this year’s Grad Night will focus more on the seniors having fun.
“We have shifted the importance from the decorations to the activities and games,” Zuccarino said. “The campus will still be decorated to fit the theme, but it will be the activities that the kids will remember.”
Grad Night decorations are being financed by the senior class fundraiser at Hong’s Gourmet Restaurant in downtown Saratoga that took place on May 19 and 22. The restaurant agreed to donate a percentage of sales from both lunch and dinner on both days.
The four Grad Night chairs are anticipating a successful night that the seniors will enjoy as their last night as SHS students.
“We would like the seniors to know we recognize their hard work in earning their graduation from SHS and Grad Night is one way the parents can show their appreciation,” Zuccarino said. “Grad Night is the time to relax and have fun.”