The songs “Landslide,” “Scott Street,” and “Where’d All the Time Go?” ring throughout headphones and earbuds as Community School of Davidson’s (CSD) class of 2025 seniors finish the annual Senior Sunrise event and wander the halls to begin the year on an anticipative note. Entering before underclassmen, all 138 members of the senior class are the first to enter the building. Their energy sets the mood for the school year to come.
With varied backgrounds, they all begin as one. Some of the seniors are starting the last of their K-12 CSD education this year. Others are new, having joined the Spartan class more recently. New or old, many are emotional about the community and friendships they are leaving behind.
“I get sentimental, so sometimes I’m like, ‘aw, this might be my last time doing this,’ but I try to have the mindset of making the most out of everything and not just constantly dwelling on being sad about maybe missing something,” said Julia Vecchiarello (‘25), a CSD student since 3rd grade.
Despite the nostalgia associated with senior year, there’s also lots of opportunity in moving onto new experiences in college. Some students, especially three who have attended the school since kindergarten, are ready to move on and quick to share their thoughts.
“It feels really weird that like I’ve seen all my friends in higher grades move on into, like, real, world stuff, out of the CSD bubble, and then realizing that that’s going to be me next year,” said Logan Cain (‘25), a CSD “lifer” (meaning he has attended CSD for every grade).
Senior lifer, Anna Turner (‘25), said, “I could not get to college soon enough. Honestly, I love CSD. It’s been the greatest, but I am so ready to go. I feel like I’ve been prepared well, and I’m excited about learning, and I want to be in a place with other people that also care about learning as much as I do.”
And Emma Mills (‘25), said, “I think I’m ready to leave my nest. This is my home, but I’m ready to fly away and experience something new, because I’ve never experienced something new school-wise.”
(Callie Hobbs)
A couple weeks later, as classes ramp up and begin to “pile on” work, some seniors struggle to balance their time. Classwork and extracurricular activities fill many of their fleeting free moments.
Dealing with these while also trying to cram in time spent relaxing with friends or doing other hobbies is no easy task. Finding time to balance a social life, high school classwork and college applications is a tough but important scale for many.
“Doing all of these activities knowing I’m a senior and this is my last year makes me want to make the most out of them more, makes me appreciate them more,” said Vecchiarello.
“There’s much more value in the balance of everything than just focusing on schoolwork all the time,” said Cain.
The college application process adds stress, too. With many universities announcing that they will be “Test Optional” for the Fall 2025 application cycle, the college application process is changing yet again. This calls into consideration another aspect of each student’s application, on top of the main Common Application essay, individual universities’ supplementals and various other sections. Vecchiarello believes that this option “levels the playing field” for students who don’t want their test score to negatively impact their overall application.
(Kate Saussele)
“At first I was really excited, but now the college process has gotten so stressful on top of normal school work,” said Mills.
But there is hope. Prioritizing goals for the year, creating reasonable expectations, setting goals, planning ahead, having an endpoint in sight and just making time to have fun along the way are all important. Part of the weight of many students’ packed weeks this fall will lift once those who choose to send in early application types do so. This will leave students with more open schedules to focus on activities they enjoy like homecoming, the next football game, playing tennis, or hanging out.
As the class of ‘25 is learning to accept that this is their final year inside the walls of CSD, many are sure it will be a bittersweet close.
“We did a little eighth grade graduation, and a fifth grade graduation, so we’ve already done some moving up ceremonies. It’ll just be a little different this time,” said Vecchiarello.
“A little different” seems to be a common theme not just for graduation but also for the evolving year. As the class of 2025 updates their playlists, Noah Kahan’s words come to mind: “You’re Gonna Go Far.”
