The annual junior class Ring Ceremony for Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria Academy took place on Thursday Nov. 18 at the Hagerty Family Events Center at 1:30 p.m. This year’s ceremony was especially monumental because it was the first time that this ceremony was co-ed.
During this ceremony, each member of the junior class was bestowed a class ring in recognition of becoming upperclassmen and soon-to-be graduates of the Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria family.
The ceremony began with the junior class officers welcoming all of the special guests, parents, friends, family, and teachers. The officers then proceeded to explain the theme for this year’s ceremony, which was unity between the Prep and Villa campuses once the official consolidation takes place next year. The officers then shared a reflection of their years as underclassmen and how the junior class is growing into the leaders of the school.
Next, a slideshow was presented containing pictures sent in by the junior class of memories they have made since their years at Villa and Prep began. This included photos from Mary’s Day, Sports Day, athletics, plays, football games, etc. Finally, each student from the junior class was called up to the front of the HFEC floor and bestowed their rings. Father Mike and Father Jason then said a blessing over the rings, and the students were dismissed to attend a reception of light snacks and pictures.
As previously mentioned, this year’s ceremony was particularly historic because both boys and girls were included in the tradition. In previous years, only the Villa girls would participate in this ceremony, but as the official consolidation of Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria Academy draws closer and closer, the decision to consolidate this tradition seemed obvious.
Ring Ceremony is close to the hearts of generations of Villa alumni, and the excitement for the tradition to continue through the consolidation was very prevalent. The Villa juniors have watched each class ahead of them get their rings since freshman year, and no one was more excited to participate than them.
Long-time Villa math teacher Mrs. Tucker has been helping with the Ring Ceremony for 10 years. As the junior class advisor, it is her responsibility to help the class officers plan, organize, and execute the Ring Ceremony. She has loved this event since the first year she helped.
“I really enjoy seeing students who are growing and maturing into leaders actually step into their role,” Mrs. Tucker said. “The beauty and dignity of the ceremony is truly unique to any school at which I have taught. Some of my favorite memories actually lie in the funny mishaps that no one can ever plan for.”
Junior class officer Lexi Mobilia also really enjoyed helping with the ceremony with her fellow officers. She helped put the slideshow together, found the music, prepared speeches, and helped put together some basic ideas of how the ceremony would run. She also read off the names of the juniors when they were called up to get their rings.
“I liked being a part of the planning in general,” Lexi said. “It was fun to see all the pictures that were sent in of our class and make the slideshow our own.”
Lexi really wants The Rambler readers to know about the turning of the rings tradition. This tradition is when the junior class turns their rings away from them 22 times and each turn is dedicated to people that are important to them and that they want to keep in their lives. The 23rd time that the students turn their rings is towards their heart, and they think of one special person that they want to keep close to them. This “locks” the ring in place and is the final step to officially becoming an upperclassman.
Overall, this year’s ceremony went extremely well, and the smiles on the juniors’ faces made all the hard work from the students and faculty worth it.
