By Brett Peruzzi, Contributing Writer
Westborough – In Westborough, like countless other high schools around the country, seniors are facing a graduation season like no other. Long-anticipated events like graduation, the senior ball, and awards night have been postponed, canceled or otherwise disrupted.
Nonetheless, the town has been determined to recognize and honor the class of 2020 in a big way. And the Westborough High School Adopt-a-Senior Class of 2020 program is making it happen. The program allows anyone who lives or works in Westborough or otherwise has a connection to the class to “adopt” one of its members. The adopter then contacts the parents of the senior to arrange the drop-off of a gift or the scheduling of a surprise for the student.
“There has been an amazing outpouring of support for this program from the Westborough community,” said organizer Jen McGrath, whose son Conor is a member of the class of 2020. “I was receiving emails and requests for a few days before we officially started the adoptions. The first few days of the program, I could barely keep up with all the emails, texts and Facebook messages that came streaming in asking to adopt a senior.”
McGrath noted that 150 seniors had been adopted as of the third week in May, and that that they will try to get every senior in the program adopted.
“I have a list of people waiting to adopt a senior so it shouldn’t be a problem to continue the process for each additional senior,” she said. “It’s important to us that no one is left behind, so we will do whatever we can to make it work for any senior wishing to participate.”
Kristi Scamurra, vice president of the class of 2020 and a member of the Student Council, said the reaction from her classmates has been positive.
“In the beginning, it was extremely exciting when our parents posted us to the Facebook page and my friends and I would all text each other when we realized we’d been adopted,” she said. “Now, I see people post their surprises on social media and share how thankful they are for our very supportive community.”
“I was adopted by a family that I’ve babysat for a few times through Girl Scouts,” Scamurra explained. “They chose me because they were looking to adopt a student who was planning to attend the mother’s alma mater, UMass Amherst. The adopters have been so creative in their ideas on how to surprise us, and it’s been so heartwarming seeing all the joy they are bringing my classmates. This program has really brought our class and community together in such a beautiful way to celebrate our graduation.”
McGrath thanked the Westborough community for rallying around the seniors.
“This has been a very disappointing end to their senior year and this project has really helped to bring some added smiles to our seniors,” she said. “This is a special memory that only this class can share with each other.”
For more information about the program, contact Jen McGrath at [email protected].
