Class of 2019 finishes year with trip to Southern California

Spending the next three days in Southern California, seniors will be embarking on the annual senior trip, May 15. Visiting theme parks and shopping, seniors will be finishing off the year a week and a half earlier than the rest of the student body. Graduation will take place a week after their return, May 23.

U.S. history teacher and senior advisor, Kori Friesen shares why she thinks the trip is impactful. At the beginning of the year seniors vote for their trip destination, this year choosing Southern California. Senior advisers Friesen and Robert Foshee, along with IT adviser Robert Hyatt and teacher Kimberly Bell, will chaperon the trip.

“The senior trip is a great opportunity to finish off the senior year and for the students to be done with finals,” Friesen said. “And with graduation days away, it’s exciting to do one last cumulative event together; it helps finish off the year and really just close down their high school career. ”

Senior Angelica Escalera, looks forward to the trip as a final time to share experiences with her class.

“What I am most looking forward to is that I have no more school left and I don’t have to come back,” Escalera said. “It’s going to be amazing to go on a fun trip as a class, and we are going to be bonding and having a blast together and eating food and riding rides. It’s just one final hurray as a group and it’s just something that we get to do before we all go on our own ways.”

The following podcast features Vijay Stephen interviewing Kori Friesen about the senior trip.

Alumna and former Feather staffer Juliana Lozano, ‘18, recognizes the community between a senior class and reminisces back to her senior trip.

“Senior trip reminded me a lot of choir trips that I had in the past,” Lozano said, “but instead of members from choir or ensemble, I got to hang out with people from just my grade. It was fun to hang out with people who understood the bittersweet nature of the last few days together before graduating”

Chaperoning the trip for the past six years, Friesen sees the trip as a finale for the year. While there, students will be attending a Dodger’s baseball game, going to Disneyland and shopping at Santa Monica beach.

“I think it leaves a lasting impression on community, on their class dynamics and their individual characteristics that they have,” Friesen said. “I think they kind of leave with an appreciation, it solidifies the they’re done. Then they go from that senior trip right into graduation day and it’s almost like it puts a bookend on something they’ve spent years working hard to do and offers them a celebratory experience.”

Students and chaperones will be leaving FCS on May 15 at 12:30 p.m. for their trip, and will be returning May 17. Seniors will be graduating on May 23 at 7 p.m. in the Peoples Church main auditorium for the 38th annual FC graduation.  

For last year’s article on the senior trip, read Breaking: Class of 2018 embarks on annual trip to SoCal.  For last year’s article on graduation, read Join the Discussion: FCS graduation 2018. For more articles, read High school summer internships aid student career choices or Track finishes season, breaks multiple school records.

Vijay Stephen can be reached via Twitter and email.