The Class of 2025 Celebrates Their“Senior Sunrise”

By  SELASIE AMEMASOR, MICHELLE CHOO, DRONA GADDAM, CRANE LEE, MARVIN SHIM, EMI SOUTHGATE, and MEGHAN TATE ZEE

On Friday, Sept. 27, the class of 2025 gathered to celebrate one of the first of many Exeter traditions, Senior Sunrise, greeting an early autumn morning together at Phelps Stadium. Organized by the Student Council representatives of the senior class, seniors enjoyed the Exeter tradition, spreading blankets upon the turf and gazing at the sun’s aureate rays as it peeked over the horizon. Sitting in a circle with their friends and classmates of the last three years, seniors relish a reprieve from the pressure of the Exeter curriculum and college worries and relive moments of their high school journey. It was a bittersweet occasion, but a memory to be cherished after the seniors have departed to the next milestone of their journeys.

Senior Sunrise is an Exeter tradition that occurs at the beginning of fall term every year, in recent memory. Senior Class President Ava Helbig commented on the event planning process, “It was the Class Reps and our advisors. We talked about possible dates for the sunrise, and we didn’t want it to be in October at all. Initially, it was set for September 26th, but we reasoned that no one would want to get up at 6:00 am on a Thursday… …If it’s a Friday, at least you can sleep [in on the next day].”

Helbig continued, “I was really worried that it would be raining, or be really wet and cloudy because the forecast was really not stable. A bunch of people were worrying about the hurricane. But it was the most beautiful sunrise.”

“It was the most beautiful weather and the fog scattered the sunrise. It’s definitely a memory I’ll keep after graduation with the donuts, hot chocolate, and friends,” senior Byran Huang remarked.

Senior Varit Asavathiratham, who was also a photographer at the event, also provided his thoughts, “As a photographer, I really liked going around to each group of people, chatting for a little bit, then taking some nice photos for them. The sunrise was quite nice and I loved the atmosphere of the event.”

Senior Representative Aveen Burney added, “I’m glad the senior crowns worked out. I wanted to do an activity where we would all bond in addition to taking photos, and to have something that could unite us. I hope we can wear it to assembly or on a special day together as a class.”

“I love the hot chocolate we had. There was a kind of fog that had settled on the field that we set on. So when the sun finally came up, we could see rings,” Helbig reflected, “Just having hot chocolate warmed me up and I was with my friends. And people brought their speakers.”

“I’ll definitely remember the senior sunrise. Maybe not a highlight of my time at Exeter, but it was definitely a nice touch to it,” Asavathiratham noted.

“I saw almost all the friends that I hoped to see, aside from the ones that decided to sleep in, and watched the sun come up with some of my closest friends. It was a fantastic time and a great way to start off the senior year,” Huang said.

“I had hoped to see more people than I actually did. Obviously it had to be run very early in the morning, but I was a little disappointed to see that some of my friends didn’t make it,” Asavathiratham reflected. “However, I think we had a good number of people come so that the field wasn’t overcrowded, and I didn’t feel lonely. I spent my time with some of my closest friends in the senior class. And even though I am friends with uppers more than any other grade, I still enjoyed the sunrise and found many people to hang out with.”

“It was a stark reminder of the fact that this is our last year, and it’s the beginning of the end,” senior Anya Rao said. “Some of these events we’re never going to have again. But Senior Sunrise only happens once, so it became one of those moments where I could reflect on my time at Exeter… …It was one of those moments that we look forward to and that we kind of anticipate during our time at Exeter.” 

“I’ve been grappling with this lately, especially at the start of the year,” Helbig said, “but I think most of the seniors are trying to make the most of what time they have left here. I’m just trying to enjoy senior year, not trying to get super down by what I get in my classes for grades. I want to enjoy the Exeter life before I can’t.”

Burney concluded by saying, “Ava and I had a super fun time organizing the event and Principal Rawson said that it was the most amount of seniors he has ever seen in any year attend, so it really is a testament to the spirit we have as seniors, and we are excited to carry this spirit into the whole school year.”