Last week, the class of 2016 gathered and celebrated their accomplishments at Primavera Online High School’s 2016 Graduation Ceremony, and we are proud to say it was one of our greatest ceremonies yet! We had over 350 students join in at Grand Canyon University as they listened to keynote speakers, walked across the stage and received their diplomas.

Students gathered on Thursday, July 7 as early as 2 p.m. to get checked in and rehearse. As we got set up for the big day, we couldn’t help but notice the buzz of excitement in the air amongst our students eagerly anticipating the start of the ceremony. Before the rehearsal, students had a great time taking “selfies” at our photo booth with our beloved Peyton Panther! The bonds formed between the Primavera graduates were instantaneous and infectious.

At 3:30 p.m., the sea of green-clad graduates gathered together in the Grand Canyon University arena to rehearse for the big day. After the rehearsal,  students enjoyed pizza together and the atmosphere became electric with excitement!

It didn’t take long before the outside of the arena filled with long, winding lines of parents, family members and friends waiting to get in for the ceremony. The support these students received was tremendous, with the biggest audience yet for a Primavera graduation! In addition to our 5,000 in attendance, several hundreds more joined in through a livestream, and participated in our SnapChat stories that night!

By 6 p.m., the arena was nearly filled to capacity ready to hear the keynote speakers. Arizona Senator Kelly Ward, Entrepreneur AJ Adams and our very own founder of Primavera Online High School, Damian Creamer, all spoke inspiring words to our students. With incredible success stories of their own, both AJ Adams and Damian Creamer truly helped our graduates see that anything is possible and the future truly is bright. Senator Ward’s son was also graduating that night from Primavera, which made for an exciting event as she gave words of advice not only to him, but to all in the stadium, letting them know that it’s never too early or too late to start accomplishing your dreams.

After the speakers concluded, the graduates got to stand and move their tassels to the left and walked across the stage and received their hard-earned diplomas.

In Case you Missed It…

For our seniors who were not able to make the graduation ceremony, be sure to look out for your diplomas coming in the mail next month! Congratulations again to Primavera’s Class of 2016! We are extremely proud of your hard work you’ve put forth in earning your high school diploma.