Throughout high school, most students are waiting for their time to celebrate all of the festivities of senior year. Maybe not the college application process, but the classic traditions such as senior sunrise, senior treats and walking across the stage to grab your diploma.
Before the time of awarding diplomas, Xavier and Brophy both have senior traditions for their student bodies to participate in to make this time special.
Xavier’s iconic red sweatshirt is one of the most well-known senior traditions. Walking around Xavier’s campus, it is easy to spot a senior when she is wearing this sweatshirt. Every year, the sweatshirt is a different style and design but the famous senior red remains the same.
At Brophy, the Senior Treats throughout the school year are a hallmark of students’ final year on campus. Multiple times throughout the year, the Mothers’ Guild provides snacks and drinks for seniors, giving them a welcome change from the typical school lunches.
On April 23, the Xavier seniors and Brophy seniors came together on Brophy’s baseball field bright-and-early to watch the sunrise together. The theme for this senior sunrise was beach vacation; students were given beach leis and nostalgic music was played.
Karina Zaveri, a Xavier senior who attended this year’s senior sunrise, said, “Senior sunrise was bittersweet. It made me realize that I am leaving my friends behind in the next two weeks but I am about to begin a new chapter in my life.”
There are also various Xavier senior traditions that have been left behind or changed: Senior students teaching classes during Catholic Schools Week, girls burning their coveted beanies in the back courtyard at the end of the year, and bringing your dates and dresses to the convent for prom to get approved, just to name a few.
According to Pete Burr ’07, director of student activities, Brophy’s senior traditions have shifted frequently throughout the years. One long-time staple was the informal Senior Sleepover, where students slept overnight in various locations around campus.
The experience was transformed this year into the Senior Retreat, which remained overnight but provided more structured opportunities for reflection and bonding.
While Burr said he enjoys each of the senior traditions at Brophy, he noted the Farewell Dinner as one of his favorites. “I think the Farewell Dinner is cool. It’s just guys outside of graduation. It’s cool that the guys get to pick the speaker. It’s cool that that speaker speaks directly to your class. It’s fun to be with your families in that way outside of the chaos and graduation.”
Another well-known tradition is Xavier’s and Brophy’s fashion shows. The two schools have their own fashion shows but the event is an exciting event that seniors look forward to participating in.
“The Fashion Show did not become a big thing until the ’90s. It is definitely a right of passage for seniors,” said Polly Fitz-Gerald, director of alumnae relations at Xavier.
No matter how much these traditions change over time, the general meaning of all of them remains the same.
“Those are the things they remember. They don’t remember so much Algebra I and Geometry. It’s the relationships you build up,” says Sister Joan Fitzgerald, Xavier president.
