Jessica Harms
Last Saturday the Class of 2021 gathered for the Senior Toast—an event to celebrate their achievements and reflect upon their experience at Solebury over the last four years. In a typical year, this event is a formal dinner held in the winter with board members, advisors, faculty, and staff celebrating the seniors and welcoming them into the alumni ranks. After the dinner, speeches, and pinning ceremony are over, the seniors make hilarious and heartfelt toasts to their classmates, teachers, coaches, and the school. It is truly the favorite event of the year for many.
Like so many important things this year, the pandemic threatened to ruin this cherished event. A seated dinner was out of the question, and the change of date precluded the board from attending. We thought long and hard about what this event is and why we do it. We realized that the heart of the event is not only to celebrate our seniors but to give them the opportunity to publicly celebrate themselves and their classmates. So on a beautiful sunny afternoon under a tent in the heart of campus, our seniors and their advisors gathered for the celebration. In addition to overcoming the obstacles of a pandemic, these seniors had so much to celebrate! Warm video toasts from the Board of Trustees, speeches from the class presidents, and of course the much-anticipated toasts from the students themselves made this an event to remember.