As the school year comes to an end, De Soto High School hosted its annual senior breakfast, where seniors and their families eat while scholarships are given to the students of DHS. This year, the senior breakfast was held on May 18..

When adding together all of the scholarships awarded, the total was over $2 million, five of those scholarships were given to senior Cody Moose, who plans on attending MIT to study and major in mechanical engineering. Although Moose received five scholarships at the actual breakfast, the other committees he has applied to have not released the final scholarship winners.

“I received an MIT merit scholar award that totals to $134,000 over the next four years,” Moose explained.

To senior Whitney Wegner, the breakfast is more than just a banquet, and it is more of a final “hurrah” for the senior class.

“I like the tradition of everyone as a class having one last meal together before graduation,” Wegner said. “It’s nice to see all of the scholarships our class has received.”

Wegner received an award for having outstanding scores on her ACT. She described the award to be very redeeming because she was recognized for her hard work. Her plans now are to attend Kansas State University and major in human and family sciences.

“I didn’t realize how amazing it feels to not have to legally attend something five out of the seven days of the week,” Wegner said.

When It comes to the preparation and inner workings of the breakfast, senior sponsor Caroline Friday made sure that everything went perfectly along with the help of Student Council volunteers.

“I do whatever I can to help,” Friday said. “I make sure all the tables are set and covered and just little things like that. I just wander around, making sure everything is going how it is supposed to be, and StuCo kids help a lot when it comes to serving and cleaning.”

The senior breakfast takes a lot of unseen effort according to sophomore Chase Culver. Culver volunteered to help out with the breakfast and worked at the check in table along with three other StuCo members.

“Working the senior breakfast was fun but also very stressful. I am glad I had others working with me at the check in table because the seniors and their families made a line extending through the whole cafeteria,” Culver said.

Graduation was held the day after the breakfast. According to Wegner, both events turned out to be better than expected.

“I was kind of dreading graduation, but once the ceremony started it all started to hit me. Everything is coming to an end, and I am starting a new chapter in my life,” Wegner said.

The senior breakfast tradition ultimately began as a way to bring everyone together and congratulate the class of 2018. According to Friday, this is a tradition that will last a lifetime.