The Class of 2015 said goodbye to life as high school students May 30.
By
Amanda Sebastiano
| 4:02 p.m. May 30, 2015
East County
Neighbors
Share
Braden River High School seniors tossed their caps and said goodbye to their East County school, May 30, at the Bradenton Area Convention Center. At their graduation ceremony, the Class of 2015 sported maroon, black or white robes, multi-colored chords for honors and other indicators of their high school performance. Brittany Cole, Ella Biggins, Emma Slotabec and David Espinal smiled through their speeches of lessons learned at Braden River, such as not stepping on the pristine grass and following the strict dress code policies, and delivered encouraging words of taking their post high school life by the reigns to pave a successful path for themselves as "adults" — a scary and strange word for students who just four years ago were mere freshmen, Cole joked.
Â
Emma Slotabec and Ella Biggins and deliver their silly and serious speech side-by-side.
Top four and top 10 students are showcased by their robe color.
Zachary Ali delivers a welcome speech.
Travis Belanger, Kaitlyn Beard and Chloe Bellevue line up before the ceremony.
Couple Sarah Chapman and Michael Troubeev celebrate their last day as high school students.
Jenny Chevalier and Kristen Colonna watch their senior video before receiving their diplomas.
Olha Chyshkevych, Kendra Clark and Tatum Clark show off matching graduation gear and smiles.
"We shared experiences that we will one day tell our grandkids about," Brittany Cole said.
Tamara Cornwell cheers for her daughter, Ella.
Assistant Principal Don French helps Dan Quijano straighten his bow tie.
Assistant Principal Don French welcomes the crowd to the ceremony.
Christian Gutierrez, Jarick Hamilton and Andrew Hammett wait for their chances to cross the stage.
Carlissa McFarland, Jessica McKinon, Kendall McNab, Tylar McNeil and Cayla Miraglia say cheese.
Friends Motte Morrison and Jessica Munoz can't wait to graduate.
Bailey Reiter finishes getting her graduation outfit ready.
Gabby Stockton and Marisa Turner relax on the floor and take a break from wearing their high heels.
Howie Tan walks toward the auditorium where he will graduate.
Seniors chat and wait for the ceremony to start.
Nathan Smith poses with cousins Tiffany and Andrew Solorzano.
More than 400 seniors graduated comprise Braden River's Class of 2015.
Students in the top four and top 10 percentiles marched into the auditorium first.
Ella Biggins, Emma Slotabec, Brittany Cole and David Espinal all presented speeches or welcome presentations at the ceremony.
Kennedy Kovalick enjoys the senior video before the graduation speakers start their presentations.
