Greenville High School seniors enjoyed a small taste of things to come–namely graduation–during the school’s first capping and robing ceremony, held Friday morning in the school’s auditorium.

Soon-to-be graduates invited a friend, family member,  teacher or other noteworthy person in their lives to help them don their graduation attire.

For Greenville High School principal Joseph Dean, the occasion was a metaphor for GHS seniors and their respective support systems who helped them make it this far.

“It could be a teacher, someone in the community, a fellow classmate, or anyone that they chose to come up,” Dean said. “And that person symbolizes the role that they played in helping them get to this point.”

Dean added that it was the first time that Greenville High School had held such a program, though, if Friday was any indication, it surely wouldn’t be the last.

“It was Mrs. Greta Whiddon’s idea; we always talk about making the graduation experience as memorable as we possibly can for our students,” Dean added. “And when she brought this idea and laid out the plans for us, we jumped onboard. This is a culmination of all her efforts.”

Given the sizeable Greenville High School student body, especially relative to the other schools in the county, large events such as the capping ceremony can often prove a difficult task, logistically speaking.  But that didn’t appear to be the case Friday morning.

“I’m amazed at how smoothly it went, due to the fact that it was our first time and we didn’t have a run-through,” Dean said. “The only thing we did to prepare for today is we brought in 20 students and gave them an idea of what to do.  It gave us a visual.  When you have 140-160 seniors each year, anything is a big event.”

The GHS seniors will also visit Greenville Elementary School to offer a sneak peek to aspiring young graduates and offer them words of encouragement.