During long homeroom on Sept. 23, seniors went to the Performing Arts Center for a special announcement. The company Jostens came to State High to give a presentation about merchandise for students’ senior year. From just the standard cap and gown set to tassels and rings, Jostens and State High are aiming to make senior year for students as memorable and special as possible.
Associate Principal Brett Wilson explained why Jostens is joining State High in preparation for graduation.
“How [Jostens] came about is the company that we previously had is going to be going away. And there was a time two years ago we were short caps and gowns because people didn’t order them in time, and Jostens was actually able to help us out, and we have a bunch of caps and gowns,” Wilson said.
Among the various items students can choose from are tassels, rings, hoodies, shirts, and more.
“Jostens obviously being a company, they’re going to try and sell other items and stuff. So that’s when you see those posters, the hoodies, the jackets, the rings, those are all optional things,” Wilson said. “If kids want to do that, if they want to purchase those things, they can, [but] the only thing they have to purchase is the cap and gown, and then also Jostens just does that the diploma and diploma cover, so it’ll be a part of graduation, and the kid might not even notice that, because they don’t order that at all.”
Many students choose to make a number of purchases, while others just go for what they need for graduation.
“I’m getting a tassel,” senior Ethan Sparks said. “But that’s it with the cap and gown”.
As seniors prepare for graduation, many cannot wait to line up and receive their diplomas at graduation. Wilson explained that the process is ever-changing, but will likely look like it did last year.
“I think the outside venue’s been fantastic,” Wilson said. “You know, minor tweak last year [because] we had to change the lineup of where the kids lined up because there was some construction there, and that actually worked out a lot better. So we’ll keep going with that. As to the route that we had the kids lined up before they come walking in. The parents really liked it, because they could see them walk kind of the whole way across the parklet and down in. So that was a small change we just stumbled upon last year.”
Wilson also explained that Jostens is likely here to stay, so underclassmen should expect Jostens merchandise to be available in the coming years.
