Senior superlatives bring out mixed feelings in Colonie central High School

By Isabella Franchi

February 15, 2023

On January 10, 379 Colonie Central seniors received an email to begin voting for the traditional senior superlatives. Many students and staff members had mixed feelings about the effects of this tradition.

The second round of voting was released on January 20 with five nominees for each category. The results come out this Friday on February 17 at the senior breakfast. As this event happens every year, some students are really looking forward to it.

The process was long, as it is every year. Two senior advisors of Colonie's Executive Club ran it this year.

Senior Class Advisor, Julie Gigliello, spent countless nights counting votes, deciding categories, creating google forms, and doing all the behind the scenes work. She commented on how time consuming the process was. However, she was happy to hear many students were excited for the senior breakfast on the 17th.

¨Sometimes it does become a popularity contest and the results from this year did not lean that way, ¨ said Gigliello. She along with many others were pleased with the feedback of this year's contest.

Gigliello talks about her high school experience and how different it used to be. She explained that in recent years many nominees have started to campaign which ¨gives the tradition higher stakes,¨ said Gigliello.

However some have looked at the senior superlatives as a set back for their senior year. PJ Parisi, Colonie senior, does not necessarily look forward to the results coming out at the breakfast.

¨It might have made people feel a little better about themselves or worse if they were not nominated,¨ said Parisi. It is the reason he does not talk about senior superlatives all the time or bring it up to others to be sensitive to how it may make others feel.

Colonie senior, Braeden Mateja, who was not nominated had expressed his feelings that he did not care for the results. He also mentioned since it was before break he would not be able to attend, along with others, because of vacations.

¨It only affects people if they really care but why would you care what other people think,¨ Mateja said.

This year Senior Executive Club added a new twist to the superlatives. Along with voting for seniors for certain categories, there was an extra section for students to vote for teachers in different categories.

Brian Scalzo, junior principal and teacher nominee, stated that he enjoyed the new spin on an old tradition and liked the idea of the students appreciating their teachers.

While some nerves came with the idea of the senior superlative unsaid risk, there was a shared opinion that the nerves were not needed after all. While many stay quiet, there is a big support for the annual contest and nominees.