With graduation approaching on Sunday, May 18 at 1:30 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum, there was an emotional shift in the atmosphere at school leading up to the event, with excitement, happiness, pride and sadness from the 2025 graduates.

“I will miss, the people, my friends and Ms. K [Ashley Kanzenbach],” senior Olivia Hagan said.

As they prepared to graduate from high school, seniors had made their different decisions about what they wanted to do after graduation. Some are going to college, and some are going into the workforce, but most were just ready to get to summer.

“I am ready to get a job for the first time,” senior Jordyn Walker said.

No matter their plans, graduation can be emotional for not only the seniors but also the administration, faculty and staff at Hays High School, as they watch the students grow throughout the school years.

“I always look forward to graduation,” assistant principal Becky Hickert said. “It’s the big event that celebrates everyone’s hard work. This graduation is a little special, though, because these are the students that came in with me my first year.”

Following their graduation ceremony, there were different options for students. Some had graduation parties, while others had small family gatherings. Hays High also offered Project Graduation the night of graduation to make sure graduates celebrate safely.

“Project Graduation is a night designed to keep seniors safe from drugs and alcohol-related accidents,” Jerrett Pfannenstiel, the Project Graduation sponsor, said. “Graduation is a big day in their lives, but it is also a day where alcohol and drugs can be involved with celebrations, so our school hosts a party all night long from 9 p.m. to about 2 a.m. to keep the seniors there and make sure their doing drugs or alcohol.”

During Project Graduation, students have a variety of options for fun with their classmates.

“We play casino games, like blackjack and roulette, and other games, and they try to win tickets to win prizes, like scholarships, TVs, PlayStation 5s,” Pfannenstiel said.

Project Graduation has been an annual event for many years.

“Our athletic director from a long, long time ago, Mike Karl, started it in the 1980s, and like a lot of schools do Project Prom, our school just chose to do a Project Graduation, and it’s just been going on since he started it,” Pfannenstiel said.

27zniles@usd489.com