Amidst a global pandemic, it is easy to feel like all normalcy is gone for East students. With the school year cut short, many students are missing out on events that they had been anticipating for weeks, months, and even years.

Seniors across the country are being acknowledged for their particular struggles in what should be a time of celebration. Without prom, graduation, or a proper last day of high school, it is hard for many to accept that their time at East has come to an end. 

However, even during the COVID-19 crisis, there is one aspect to senior year which East students and staff have kept alive: the tradition of senior superlatives. 

Senior superlatives are decided upon by the senior class as a whole. A survey is sent to students with a list of categories. These surveys are completed with student names and sorted. The two students who receive the most votes in a particular category “win” that superlative. 

This tradition helps the senior class reflect on the individuals with whom they have grown up. Superlatives are simultaneously a bow to the future of a class, with “most likely to be” categories, and a nod to the memories of school spirit and “senioritis” that will remain with students as they leave East. 

This year, the senior superlative list contained 13 distinct categories. Based on the results provided to us by Assistant Principal Lisa Dandre, the winners of these titles were:

Class Clown — Joey Scimeca, Colin Zimmers

Most Likely To Be President — Charlene Baes, Sean Yetter 

Most Likely To Be On Broadway — Elijah Groth, Liam McCarron

Most Likely To Be On Reality TV — Jamie Claussner, Jessica Garland

Worst Case of Senioritis — Jacob Farmer, Amarion Isbell

Most Likely To Brighten Your Day — CJ Metz, Chiara Ruane

Most Likely To Be A Teacher at East — Alex Deetjen, Sydney Stahly

Most Likely To Become A Professional Athlete — Dylan Barrett, Cole Conn

Most Likely To Become A Billionaire — Allen Steinberg, Isabel Sypolt

Most Likely To Be Late To Their Own Wedding —  Matt Clancy, Rachel Parson

Most Artistic  —  Erik Anderson, Sydney Opaleski

Best Dressed — Gino Cerrone, Sarina Singh

Best School Spirit —  Joe Sajdak, Madison Solomon

Sydney Stahly, one of the winners of “Most Likely to Be a Teacher at East,” says that she was “super surprised” to win a superlative. 

“I have always seen superlatives on TV or social media,” Stahly says, “but I’d never thought that I would actually win one.”

CJ Metz, co-winner of “Most Likely to Brighten Your Day,” was also shocked to see his name on the superlative list. 

“To be selected out of that many people blew me away,” said Metz. “The classes are so big that to be selected out of that many people, especially when most people just vote for their friends … I was definitely surprised by that.”

However, even though they were not expecting to win, both students believe that they do fit the title given to them by their peers. 

“I think I fit it pretty well,” Stahly says. Stahly’s future plans align with teaching aspirations. She is going to Illinois State University in the fall to major in education, and has “always loved working with kids.”

As far as working at East, as her superlative predicts — Stahly would not be against it. She says she “would love to work at East in the future if the opportunity was ever to present itself.”

Metz has won awards in the past, both in middle school and student council, for being a caring individual. Therefore, his “Most Likely to Brighten Your Day” superlative is one he can see for himself. 

“While I was voting, I thought to myself, ‘if I were to win any of these, it would be that one’” Metz says. Metz described being glad that people knew him “as being kind and nice to them,” as that is something he strived for in his time at East.

Superlatives provide an opportunity for seniors to reminisce and appreciate their classmates now that their time together is over. When everything else in the world seems to be turned upside down, imagining friends and classmates as the next billionaire or reality TV star can help seniors return to what graduation is really about: the future. 

In consideration of the future, though, Metz has a few thoughts he hopes to leave with the current underclassmen: 

“It’s good to look ahead and be excited for new things,” Metz says. “But live in the moment in high school.” Winning a superlative has reminded him of the years he spent anticipating senior festivities and events which have been lost to COVID-19. 

“So, never take for granted what you have, especially at school with your friends and teachers. Once that’s gone, especially if you’re not expecting it to be taken away, it’s gone for good.”

From the X-Ray team, congratulations to the winners of the 2020 senior superlatives — and to the entire class of 2020!