Colton, CA—As the sun rose and began to shine on CHS, the class of 2025 kicked off their senior year with the annual Senior Sunrise.
Organized by the senior class and set up by ASB, this year’s Mamma Mia themed Senior Sunrise took place at 5:30 a.m. on the football field. Although the event may have started with a group of groggy high-school students setting their blankets down on CHS’s home turf, by the time the sun had risen over the Hubbs Gym and onto the field, students were enjoying their time writing letters to their future selves, sharing Krispy Kreme donuts, and documenting their first senior event of the year.
Senior Sunrise serves as the official start for each senior’s final year. ASB Director Alexandra Buskirk puts it more simply: “The importance is just to welcome everybody to your first event of your last year, basically.”
About halfway through the event, students from ASB went around the field passing out blank pieces of paper, markers and envelopes to the seniors. All seniors were given these materials to write a letter to their future selves, which will be returned to them at the end of the year during one of the last senior events, Senior Sunset. As intended, many students took their time writing their letters, making sure to provide a heartfelt message for their future selves.
A lot of this year’s seniors carried mixed emotions about closing this chapter of their lives. Some were excited, others expressed feelings of sadness. Others were just excited to finally be putting their high school years behind them.
For senior Dexia Casillas, Senior Sunrise typified these mixed emotions. “It’s sad seeing it end,” she said about her last year of high school. “But, it’s also really exciting because I’m tired of it.”
Seniors Anissa Delgado and Samantha Gonzalez both shared their feelings of excitement looking forward to what this year has in store for them. “It’s our first senior event, so I’m filled with so many emotions,” Gonzalez said. “But I’m excited for the rest of the year and our other senior events.”
As smoothly as the event went, Buskirk shared there was one issue. “One of the challenges was that the press box was actually broken into,” she shared.
Sound equipment was stolen from the press box, which would have made it more difficult for ASB to play music and make announcements at the event. Fortunately everything fixed before the day of the event. “Thankfully, people at the district office totally came through for us,” Buskirk said. “Patched up everything, and no one even knew the difference. That was a really amazing thing.”
