Seniors toasted to the 100 day countdown to graduation.
MARY HALEY/THE QUADRANGLE
By Mary Haley, asst. features editor/ social media editor
With champagne and hors d’œuvres, seniors celebrated the beginning of the end to their Manhattan College careers at the senior toast event hosted by student engagement and student government. The event marked 100 days until the undergraduate graduation ceremony on May 18.
The event was held in Kelly Commons and was the first official senior celebration for the spring semester.
Senior vice presidents of student government, Lauren Raziano and Alyssa Ferrara, announced the dates of many other important senior events such as the graduation fair on April 23, where seniors can buy caps, gowns, cords, graduation frames, senior formal tickets and senior shirts. Seniors can also get their graduation portraits taken by appointment from April 29 to May 10.
Brother Robert Berger commenced the toast with a prayer to recognize the seniors and how far they have come since entering Manhattan during the pandemic year.
Gabriella Sandoval spoke with The Quadrangle about how she feels about graduating and celebrating the past four years with her classmates, while also holding the responsibility of organizing these events for her peers as vice president for social life.
“I think it’s about seeing everyone else have a great time,” Sandoval said. “So long as at the end of the day my class is happy and making memories together, I am happy with whatever the outcome is. It’s just been so memorable.”
Sandoval worked alongside Sharon Ortega and John Bennett from student engagement for the past 2 months to kickstart the graduation celebrations with this toast.
She explained that while student government and other clubs on campus can announce they are hosting big events like the senior toast, student engagement is the backbone of the success of these events.
“[Student engagement is] very supportive of everything we want to do,” Sandoval said. “It’s definitely hard, but it wouldn’t be possible without student engagement.”
Although excited to start this countdown, seniors also felt bittersweet while reminiscing on the time they have spent at Manhattan and the memories they’ve made.
Senior Nicholas Pesa came to Manhattan College as a freshman in 2020, and told The Quadrangle about experiencing his first college party after being unable to see people due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“It was after COVID, so people could actually do things. It was euphoric,” Pesa said. “It was my first college party ever, it was so fun.”
Pesa also explained that this graduation is especially exciting since he was a part of the 2020 high school graduating class, where most schools had little to no ceremony for seniors.
“In high school, I didn’t have a graduation, so I finally get to have one that means something,” Pesa said. “I finally get to experience one [graduation] at least, it’s like my first big graduation.”
Other seniors were sad to end this chapter of their lives, but were happy to be toasting to their lifelong memories made at Manhattan College. Morgan Schuyler explained how she is going to miss the more simple parts of college, like regular dorm living.
“My favorite memories are just the times like going into my friend’s room in the middle of the night just needing to talk to someone, and being so close to all of my friends,” Schuyler said. “My closest friends are here. I’ve known them for so long, and I am toasting to how grateful I have been to have had this experience given to me.”