A Senior Beaver Surprise Parade

My sister is one of those high school seniors - you know, the ones who are unfortunate victims of a pandemic ruining every celebratory event they deserve. However, this morning, her pride in her school was reaffirmed by some pretty amazing staff members.

For context, I have two younger sisters who attend a vocational school - Ireland is a senior, and Hailey is a freshman. For Hailey, her first year at BVT was cut short only a few weeks after she chose her shop, and although she is sad, at least she can return in the future. However, for Ireland, the final year of her high school experience - and her experience in public education as a whole - has been unexpectedly shortened, just as it has for so many high school seniors across the country.

A few weeks ago, my mom ordered two celebratory signs for our front yard. Many neighboring towns are doing for their high school seniors, too. A BVT parent announced that she was ordering them for other parents to purchase and surprise their seniors with. My mom was told she would be able to pick them up when they are ready, and that was that.

Now, let me paint you a picture: it’s a typical rainy Friday, the kind that reminds you of cozy pajama mornings, as you wait for a hint of sunshine to crackle through the constant drizzle. It’s not even 11am. We are all barely awake with no strict plans to start the day any time soon. It is going to be another slow and lazy day of quarantine life...

...Then cars outside start honking their horns.

My mom’s first thought is, “Oh gosh, that birthday parade is at the wrong house.” It takes us a few minutes to realize that the half-dozen cars beeping outside of our groggy house are not in the wrong place, nor are they a birthday parade. A pick-up truck is decorated with a “BVT Class of 2020” sign, and the other cars are decked out in purple beaver bumper stickers.

The parade is for Ireland.

So, I rush downstairs to tell her, unsure what to say to her. I whip open her door with a barely coherent, “Uh, there’s a Class of 2020 parade for you outside. Mom says you need to go out there…” She’s not even awake. When she finally understands, she asks if she can put on jeans, but my mother calls down the stairs telling her to hurry up. So, she rushes into the front yard with her “I woke up like this” look of fluffy pink pajama pants and her hair in a slept-on bun.

The look on her face is still priceless.

Out front, a few staff members are now out of their cars, displaying the Class of 2020 sign newly placed on our lawn. One woman has a purple pom-pom, a car blasts a pop remix of the graduation song, and Ireland stands overwhelmed and surprised in her fresh-out-of-bed look, as they take photos of her in front of her new sign.

In the next hour, posts begin popping up on Facebook of surprised seniors standing in front of their new lawn signs. Ireland gets dressed and cleaned up, so my mom can take more photos of her beaver pride.

The pure awesomeness of this surprise is not just that they arranged it without anyone knowing - it gets better.

Upon seeing that parents were buying signs from another BTV parent, the school decided to take over and purchase one sign for every senior. Then, to go above and beyond, they surprised every senior with a sign AND a parade to celebrate them. More amazing than this, though, is that this school is made up of students from thirteen surrounding towns. That means these fabulous people coordinated parades for every senior in each of these towns, splitting up into multiple groups to do so - all in secret.

Even though Ireland was completely unprepared and not at all expecting any of this, the smile on her face spoke volumes. We are a proud BVT household, and today, this pride has only grown stronger. Thank you for celebrating my sister.