Senior year can be a stressful time. From college applications to graduation to stacking expenses, it can sometimes feel like there isn’t time to appreciate how far one has come. At the Kalamazoo Promise Senior Signing Day, however, administrators and Kalamazoo promise sponsors gave seniors the opportunity to do just that.
On Thursday, April 23, seniors filed into Mayors Riverfront Park for a day of celebration, food and fun. The event was led by the Kalamazoo Promise in order to celebrate the achievements of KPS seniors and give them the opportunity to declare their postsecondary pathways.
“This is a great event for seniors. I appreciate the fact that the Kalamazoo Promise sponsors this event every year,” said KPS Superintendent Darren Slade. “We do this because we want to celebrate our students, especially our seniors. It’s a way to let them know that we appreciate the fact they worked hard and they graduated from high school. We also want them to know that we want them to keep going forward and go to college, trade school or pursue a career.”
The event started with a speech from Loy Norrix Principal Christopher Aguinaga. It was hosted by Loy Norrix Special Education teacher Hector Domiguez, who got the crowd hyped up.
“Today, I’m just a hype man. They’ve got me hosting. They just said, ‘Mr. Dominguez, we like how you do pep rallies. Would you come do the promise [event]?’” said Dominguez. “It’s incredible because I’m not from here, so to be asked to do something to be a part of this is just super dope. Makes me feel super included.”
The event featured booths from colleges, trade schools, the army and marines and local organizations like the Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL) and Outfront Kalamazoo. Lead mobile outreach librarian for the KPL Amanda Raklovits says this is a great way to promote the library to young adults.
“It’s wonderful because it’s visibility for the library,” said Raklovits. “Teens and newer adults are an age group that we often lose until maybe they have kids of their own someday. We like showing them like the library still has stuff for them.”
The Kalamazoo Promise organization has been hosting the KPS senior signing event for years, working with community partners, colleges and vendors to make it fun and appealing for students. This year they featured attractions like caricature drawing, inflatable slides, a snow cone truck, catering and karaoke.
“We have a wonderful team of individuals that work on events in our office, and they came together, and they really wanted to do something to celebrate seniors that were graduating,” said Von Washington Jr., CEO of the Kalamazoo Promise. “From start to finish, they plan it, all the creativity, work with community partners, but our team in our office does it all.”
Signing day is a celebration of seniors, but it’s also part of a larger effort led by the Kalamazoo Promise to encourage KPS students to pursue a future in higher education and careers after graduation.
“The city is really trying to recognize them,” said Washington. “We put it on behalf of the Kalamazoo promise and our partnership with the Kalamazoo Public Schools, but it really is bigger than that. It’s showing them that people are really excited about them, excited about their next journey, and let them know that we’re there to support them along the way.”
