This year McKinley participated in their 148th commencement ceremony. Besides their long history of traditions the students are a part of each year (some of them including; the band playing, the ceremony held in the front of A building, the graduates turning their tassel as a class, walking over the oval, etc.), the weather, although uncontrollable, is commonly predictable. A warm afternoon with plenty of sunshine. Often the wind will pick up and some years a few light sprinkles will fall however, the weather has never been an issue. This year was a different story.

The day started off with a few showers, foreshadowing the evenings events. At around 4:30 pm, the sky fell dark and the clouds loomed above. Momoka Kaneko, a junior and a member of the band said, “We were concerned with how dark the sky was getting while we were setting up.” Before the ceremony started, the rain had already come down. “It was pouring. Our clothes, music and instruments were soaked.” While this could have caused the end before the start, the proud Tigers (the band, audience, and graduates included) continued. “It was cold and raining but that didn’t take anything away from the celebration” said Gary Robinson, a member of the audience that day. Inspite of the rain, the graduation was momentous. The speeches were said, the songs were sung, and McKinley honored the class of 2013.

As the day came to an end, the sun surprisingly shone through bringing a rainbow that fell across the school. While the band played Grand March, the graduates received their diplomas and ceremoniously walked across the oval. The sun peaked through the clouds, predicting a bright future for the graduating class. This year will be put down in McKinley’s history as one of the wettest commencement ceremonies to date.