- November 2, 2024
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Just seven hours before rows upon rows of black and white-clad graduates filled the stadium at Sarasota High School, the rain was coming down so hard that drivers on Tamiami Trail couldn’t drive faster than 25 miles per hour.
However, at 8 p.m. on June 2 at Cleland Stadium, nearly 500 seniors sat in dry seats for a muggy yet clear night of reflection and celebration — their last night as high schoolers.
The end of their academic career in the Sarasota County Schools system began in two locations: the cafeteria for the girls, and the gymnasium for the boys. As the white-robed girls left the cafeteria in a single-file line, the black-robed boys were instructed to file into an identical line to the right of them.
They parted ways when they reached the track, but they reunited once they reached Ihrig Field, where each student walked down the aisle to their seat arm in arm with a student of the opposite sex.
Once seated, students listened to several performances, student speeches and a welcome from Principal David Jones before crossing the stage. Four years and countless homework assignments later, they did it — they earned their diploma.