On Jan. 25, the International Baccalaureate (IB) class of 2018 was officially inaugurated as members of the program at the IB pinning ceremony. It is a Gables tradition to have the parents and family members of IB juniors gather in the auditorium during the beginning of the second semester for the ceremony. The symbolism behind the pinning is the hard-work and dedication each student has put into their educational learning. It also represents that no matter how hard the program gets, the students never give up.

“Officially being in IB for two nine weeks now, I have learned that I was either going to have to time manage or I wouldn’t survive. It is also crucial to network with the other IB peers in your class in order to get feedback on assignments and get help on subjects that aren’t your strongest point,” junior Cristina Leon said.

To commence the ceremony, the jazz band performed for the juniors. Followed by the band’s act, Divisi sang the national anthem. Cultural appreciation which IB stresses with its foreign languages component played a huge role on Wednesday night. IB students welcomed everyone to the ceremony in different languages such as Cantonese, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Special guest, Ron Magill from Zoo Miami, gave a speech to emphasize that you don’t need to be a straight-A student in order to be successful at what you love. His speech inspired many because IB students can feel the stress of “not making it anywhere in life” because of their grades and the pressure that comes along with the program. IB senior, Bhargavi Pochi, also gave a motivational speech to the Class of 2018. After Pochi’s speech, IB coordinator, Mrs. Van Wyk, gave a speech about how proud she was of the class and also congratulating them for coming so far.

“It was very significant to me to be surrounded by my peers [at IB Pinning] like we had already obviously been in the IB program since the first day we walked in as juniors but [the event] really marked it for us,” junior Maria Candelario said.

As soon as the speeches were done, the juniors were called onto stage in order to receive their pins and white rose. Shortly afterwards, the whole class went up on stage and took a group picture. To close the ceremony, they sang the Alma Mater. Parents and students looked forward to eating cupcakes at the end of the ceremony. After the ceremonial night, the IB class of 2018 is officially on their crazy but worth while journey to receiving the IB diploma.