On Wednesday, Jan. 2o, the International Baccalaureate class of 2017 officially marked their entrance into the IB program during their IB Pinning ceremony. The IB pinning ceremony is a tradition in the International Baccalaureate Program and happens during the junior year of IB students. During this ceremony, juniors receive their IB pins from IB seniors to officially commemorate themselves into the IB Program.

As the Jazz band started playing, the juniors walked in and sat down in the newly renovated auditorium. The ceremony started off with JROTC raising the flag and then Divisi singing the national anthem. Then the main speakers of the night, seniors Maya Iskandarani and Tesla Sullivan, welcomed the students and parents to the prestigious ceremony. Since the IB program is meant to create a more culturally aware and well rounded generation, a short welcome speech was given by several IB seniors in different languages including: German, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Creole, and Spanish to represent the different countries from around the world.

“For me, it was a bitter-sweet moment watching all the juniors get pinned. Since I’m friends with a lot of them, seeing them move into this new stage in their lives was something really special for me, especially since I was one of the seniors that got to pin them. It was really exciting to see the next class take charge into the brave world of IB,” senior Joshua Zambrano said.

As the ceremony continued, senior Isabella Izquierdo gave a speech to the juniors to give some words of inspiration and to ready them for the long journey ahead of them. Following Izquierdo’s speech, Principal Costa gave a short speech thanking the parents for all that they have done for their kids. Guest speaker of the night, Mayor of Coral Gables Jim Cason, gave a speech on the grit and perseverance that students build going through such a rigorous program. The speeches were topped off by IB coordinator, Ms. Van Wyk, who stated how proud she was of the students and as well as congratulating them on how far they have come. Once the speeches finished, the juniors made their way to the stage and were pinned by select IB seniors and also given a white rose as they walked offstage. Shortly afterwards, the IB class of 2017 took a group photo and to close the ceremony, sang the alma mater.

“The ceremony was really well organized and all the speakers, especially Isa [Izquierdo], were really insightful. All of the induction ceremonies are basically the same and I think a lot of people thought it would be lame, but it was really nice. There’s something special about being with all the people we’re going to spend the next, rough, year and a half, and graduate with. I think it brings us closer together,” junior Laura Stieghorst said.

As the ceremony came to a close, the class walked over to Diner 9, where there was food and beverages for the students and their families, provided by the PTSA and Ms. Vera and her culinary students. As the night came to an end, the newly inducted juniors made their way out, excited for what is to come on their arduous journey.