As the end of their senior year at The Columbus School and Thanksgiving season approaches, TCS students prepare to celebrate two incredible traditions: the Thanksgiving ceremony with K4 students and their long-awaited trip to Cartagena. This dual celebration marks an important milestone in their senior year, blending reflection and enjoyment.
The Thanksgiving ceremony is a nostalgic moment for seniors, as they reflect on their years at TCS when inspiring younger students and the school community. Simultaneously, the Cartagena experience makes them bond with classmates before graduation as one of their last experiences as a class. This blend of traditions highlights the spirit of gratitude, community and celebration.
“I think it’s nostalgic and a heartwarming moment to be the seniors doing the lap around the coliseum with the K4 students as I feel it’s like seeing how much we’ve grown and how we were once the small children being taken around,” said Sofia Trujillo, Senior at TCS.
The sentiment of connection, growth, and excitement is shown throughout the ceremony and the beginning of the Cartagena trip.
“I’m excited to hang out with my friends, go to Cholon, Islas, and the boat. It’s something we have always dreamed of doing, and we have seen seniors going to Cartagena since ninth grade, so it’s exciting when your time comes,” Laura Carvajal, Senior at the school said.
Both events center on unity and the importance of relationships throughout high school, whether it is with younger students at school or among peers on the trip.
”I think it’s a place where we can all forget the different groups and just have fun together, do the same activities, and share a lot of moments,” Carvajal said.
Similarly, the Thanksgiving ceremony creates meaningful connections, particularly with the youngest members of the TCS community.
“I think it sets them to see us as role models as the fact that they look at us as these students that are very happy, grown , and even make them start looking up to us and think, ‘I want to be like them someday,’” Trujillo reflects.
Both the trip and the ceremony embody the specificity of gratitude and celebration, allowing seniors to cherish their final moments at TCS in meaningful ways.
“I think it’s very convenient because we usually celebrate Thanksgiving with family, so it’s fun to spend this holiday with friends and the people we love from school,” Carvajal explained.
While both events have different purposes, they compliment each other by celebrating the seniors’ growth and their role in the TCS community as models.
“And like I said before, it’s nostalgic to see that we have grown so much in the past years. I think it’s very important to see that we have grown together for 14 years and that we are able to change and mature.” Trujillo said.