Senior Week Is Just Around the Corner
Marist students and faculty at Riverfest on April 26. Photo by Victoria Raspe '24
With graduation fast approaching, it’s time for senior Red Foxes to wrap up their time on campus with a week of fun events.
With graduation just around the corner, members of the senior class at Marist College feel many things: scared, nervous, excited and tired. Amidst it all, Marist’s Senior Week provides many opportunities for the class of 2024 to have fun with their peers one last time before receiving their hard-earned diplomas.
There is a lot that goes into planning the multitude of events, which includes the work of Tyler Street ‘24, Student Government Association president of the Class of 2024, who defines himself as the liaison, overseer and representative of his class.
“I work in the planning process, everything behind the actual Senior Week events, all the way to commencement. About twice a month, we’ve been meeting with the commencement committee, run by Shelly Joyce and Diane Hart, and it’s pretty much to go over what will happen during commencement,” said Street. “It’s a lot within itself; there are a lot of intricate details that go into it. I work very closely with Bob [Lynch] and the rest of Student Activities, as well as the SGA board.”
Planning this year’s Senior Week has not been a recent process, “We started planning this last year, and the actual ‘putting pen to paper’ started in October,” said Street. “This is one of the biggest things you work for in SGA — if you’re on the board in general, this is what you know you’ll be remembered for.”
Street values the importance of Senior Week and knows it means a lot to his class.“This is one of the last things students have at the school, so you want it to be memorable,” he said. In stressing that importance, Street acknowledged that while activities during Senior Week have been successful in the past, many come from ideas provided by the students themselves.
“We go through a bunch of ideas on what students want to do. We throw a lot of different ideas out there,” said Street. “We ask around to different students on what they want to see. The formal has always been a thing, and this is the second year we are doing a Broadway show and a baseball game.”
The Broadway shows and baseball games are a massive hit with students. According to Street, the tickets to this year’s baseball game — a New York Mets game at Citi Field — sold out in 30 seconds.
In regards to the highly-anticipated Senior Formal, Street said that this formal means a lot to the Class of 2024, most of whom graduated high school in 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted many major milestone events for the graduating class.
“I’m really looking forward to the Senior Formal, and we are the class that graduated in 2020, and we didn’t get a prom, so this is a nice way of getting that,” said Street.
With the events planned and everything ready to be set in motion in just a few weeks, Street is proud of what he has accomplished with his board and what he has been able to provide to the Class of 2024.
“Our class has gone through so much adversity, and we’ve made it past that, and our class is very well-accomplished academically, athletically and career-wise,” he said. “In terms of the cards we’ve been dealt, I think we’ve managed to overcome a lot of the conflicts and barriers we’ve come across.”
Senior Week: An Events Timeline
Sunday, May 12: A Broadway trip. The bus leaves at 9 a.m., and students will travel to New York City to see “The Great Gatsby,” a new show based on the hit novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Monday, May 13: A trip to a New York Mets game. At 3:30 p.m., students will head to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies.
Tuesday, May 14: Senior Brunch. Seniors can head to the Dining Hall from 10:30 a.m. to noon to get a delicious brunch and reminisce in the place where so many memories from college have taken place.
Wednesday, May 15: Senior Formal. It’s a big night to get dressed up! Seniors will head to The Grandview to enjoy their formal from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. An open bar and dinner will be provided.
Thursday, May 16: Senior Barbecue. Seniors can head to the Dining Tent anywhere from 5 to 7 p.m. to enjoy a nice cookout with a view of the Hudson River.
Friday, May 17: Graduation rehearsal. Rehearsal for the big day takes place at 1 p.m, where seniors will find their seats and learn how to cross the stage.