Now that the year is officially over, the class of 2027 is beginning to step into their roles as rising seniors.

While it seems like yesterday that the class of 2027 arrived on the Williston campus, the group of 127 students is already gearing up for their senior year. Following graduation on Saturday, May 22, 2026, the Williston community bid farewell to the class of 2026, leaving the class of 2027 as the oldest ones on campus.

The rising seniors have conflicting opinions about entering their final year at Williston.

Kamal Sergeev, a boarder from Russia and a man of few words, is excited to be a senior.

“Finally, bruh,” he said.

Riley Stocker, a boarding student from Verona, N.J., has a different perspective. She is “lowkey sad” to be the oldest on campus.

Some of the rising seniors are a bit more conflicted.

Addie Eakin, a boarder from Williamstown, Mass., is excited for all of the fun senior activities, such as prom, lock in, senior dinner, and the annual senior elimination game played in the spring, but she is also nervous for how her grade will follow up the class of 2026.

“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “I’m really excited … but I’m also nervous about the responsibility and [taking on] the leadership roles that are necessary to shape the community. [There are] big shoes to fill.”

During assessment week, the dean’s office held leadership training for all students in leadership roles for the upcoming school year. This training prepares students for the fall trimester, and gives them the confidence to fill the “big shoes” left behind by the class of 2026.

Sarah Lucas, a boarding student from Melrose, Mass., is nervous for senior year, but ready to help out the underclassman, as past seniors have done for her.

“I am mostly excited to be the one that the younger kids look up to,” she said. “I am really excited to offer advice and reflect on my time here.”

Ben Taglianetti, from North Providence, R.I., is less sentimental. “I’m happy [to be a senior] because I want high school to be over.”

Riko Tanizawa, from Tokyo, Japan, is “excited but sad because [she] doesn’t have a lot of time left.”

“It’s sad that [high school] isn’t going to last forever,” she said.

A few students have expressed feeling old, or, as Riley Platt, a day student from South Hadley, Mass., puts it, “unc as hell.”

Zora Elkin further elaborates on Riley’s idea, reflecting on how fast she has grown up.

“It’s crazy to think about,” said Zora, a rising senior from Atlanta, Ga. “I can still remember my eighth grade spring [like it was yesterday], and now I’m gearing up to apply to college. Time has passed a little too quickly.”

Ken Choo, a Williston faculty member and class of 2027 parent to Jack and Mary, is also hyper aware of the passage of time, similar to Zora.

He notes that this junior class moving up is “definitely a bit more poignant [because his] own kids are becoming seniors.”

“I’m realizing I have less time with them … and time is precious,” he said.