The May-hem is upon us—the inboxes are full. The college tees are out. The senior absences keep adding up.

Senior season has arrived.

As the countdown to graduation winds down, the spotlight often shines on spirit week polls, senior sunset movie picks and yearbook superlatives. But one of the most meaningful senior traditions at Community flies largely under the radar.

Each May, a select group of students quietly receives the school’s highest recognition—an invitation to Senior Awards Night where they’ll take home one of 35 honors.

Hosted in the auditorium, the invite-only event honors spring graduates whose contributions extend far beyond GPAs or transcripts.

Senior class sponsor Mrs. Jennifer Kelly called the evening “exclusive”—but not in the traditional sense.

“A lot of our awards go to those kids who have really blocked off a big chunk of their high school career and taken a lot of our classes to excel well,” Kelly said. “Maybe their grade point isn’t the highest, but they’ve dedicated themselves to that particular path.”

That dedication defined Emily Mack’s four years in the Family and Consumer Sciences department. Mack, the recipient of the Barb Bush Family and Consumer Science award, completed nine FACS classes—from Principles of Nutrition to Zero-Hour Culinary Arts.

“She legit is probably one of the kindest [students],” FACS department head Mrs. Laura Thomas said. “She just is—whoever, wherever—very kind.”

Mack didn’t expect the honor.

“I had no idea, like, at all,” she said. “But then when [Thomas] started saying the speech, I knew it was me.”

The night’s award presentations often reveal what transcripts cannot, a deeper glimpse into students’ passions.

“Music isn’t for everybody. Foreign language isn’t for everybody,” Kelly said. “But those people who get involved in it—they like it, and they do well in it.”

Some students find passion in one department. Others, like senior Kenna Malinowski, leave a mark across several.

A four-time state-qualifying swimmer and All-State basketball player, Malinowski added another title her senior year: yearbook journalist.

“She’s an awesome person,” Kelly said. “That’s just Kenna in general.”

Malinowski joined the Reverie staff after volunteering to write the swim section the year before. A former photography student, she brought a full skillset—writing, photography, layout, interviewing.

“She shows up,” Kelly said—she does it all.

This year, Malinowski wrote every athletic season recap in the 2024-25 yearbook—from bowling to wrestling.

“That’s probably the most involved thing,” Kelly said, Malinowski’s ability “to collaborate and find out all those things about all those sports.”

Even the senior’s father didn’t know the extent of her yearbook contributions—until she walked the stage and received the same honor he took home as a Community senior in 1995.

“He was very excited about it,” Malinowski said, unaware of her dad’s achievement until that evening.

While some students follow family legacies, others forge new paths entirely.

Believe Yayu, a first-generation student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, left Senior Awards Night with arms full—recognized with the Physical Education department award, the Service to the School award and the Stay 4 Scholarship.

Awarded through the Great Plains LIFE Foundation, the $1,000 Stay 4 scholarship supports students from low-income, first-generation backgrounds who “demonstrate the ability to succeed, yet are considered to be at risk of dropping out of high school,” according to the foundation.

Yayu, who plans to major in Media Communications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has served as Senior Class Board Secretary and Black Student Union Outreach Coordinator. 

Yayu’s dedication earned her the penultimate award of the night presented by Associate Principal Mrs. Courtney McClure: the Service to the School Award. 

But it was the PE award that stood out to her most.

The honor was surprising, the senior said, “but I was very touched with what [Mrs. Mindy Ewalt] said about me as a student.”

Ewalt, the PE department chair and Yayu’s Dance Fitness teacher, described her as “special”—a student whose positivity impacted everyone in class.

After Ewalt missed several days of class, “when I came back after being out, one of the subs said, ‘Oh my goodness, this girl is amazing,’” Ewalt said. “She went up front, taught the choreography, counted transitions. She was a teacher.”

In a department where courses don’t come with AP or dual credit labels, attitude matters more than accolades.

“She is very skilled,” Ewalt said, “but that was not the reason [she was picked]. It was her energy, the encouragement she gives—not just to her friends, but to the one in the corner without a partner.”

Across departments, that same idea echoed.

In FACS, the award goes to someone kind and committed. In PE, to someone who inspires those around them. In Yearbook, to someone who shows up, takes initiative and follows through.

Mack found her place in FACS, making the honor roll her senior year.

“She’s just really figured out what works for her,” Thomas said.

Malinowski, in her first year as a yearbook staffer, made herself indispensable.

“She’s grounded in what she does,” Kelly said. “She’s competitive, but she’s humble—the perfect little thing.”

And Yayu, with three awards in one night, reminded everyone in the room what impact really looks like.

What Senior Awards Night lacks in hype, it makes up for in heart. The event offers a rare pause—one night to reflect not just on what students have done, but on who they’ve become.

Senior Awards Night. Mark it on your calendar. If you have the chance to attend, you won’t want to miss it.