The fourth annual Graduation Sensation is right around the corner. On Thursday, May 30, about 450 seniors from schools around the Klamath Basin will march down Main Street in celebration of their big accomplishment: graduating from high school.
This is the biggest annual event for the Klamath Promise, which will award $40,000 in scholarships and prizes this year. Students have entered drawings for the many scholarships and prizes, which will be announced at the celebration in Veterans Park following the parade.
“The Graduation Sensation is an incentive for students to graduate and a reward for all of their hard work,” said Klamath Promise Coordinator Anne Hiller Clark. “The scholarships and prizes recognize that students take several paths after graduation: college, military service or the workforce. Everyone is eligible to win something.”
The Klamath Promise promotes success through education, with the continuing goal of helping all Klamath Basin students finish high school with a plan for their futures.
“Graduation rates are improving, and we expect the trend to continue,” Hiller Clark said.
The Klamath Promise invites the community to come to support the graduates. During the parade down Main Street at noon, please come out and cheer them on. “By watching the parade or attending the program, community members show Klamath County’s pride in of all of our high school graduates,” Hiller Clark said. “Completing high school is an important life moment.”
This year the parade will include bands from Henley, Klamath Union, and Mazama high schools. The Klamath Promise thanks the many supporters of the Graduation Sensation, including individuals, local businesses and nonprofits, Klamath Falls and Klamath County government, Klamath County School District, Klamath Falls City Schools and private and home schools, and higher education supporters Oregon Tech and Klamath Community College. Many scholarships will be personally presented by individual donors.
“We couldn’t do this without the support of all the volunteers, their organizations and the Klamath Promise partners,” Hiller Clark said.
The party in the park will follow, with drawings for almost $40,000 in scholarship and prizes generously donated by individuals and organizations from across our community starting about 12:45 pm.
Commissioner Derrick DeGroot will speak briefly to the graduates beforehand. Cupcakes, carrots (new this year!) and bottled water from Sherm’s Thunderbird are on the menu.