Yorktown High School students in Constitution Hall Photo by Vernon Miles.
The Green Household is going to be a little quieter after graduation. On June 23, Viktor Green was one of the 440 graduates from Yorktown to walk across the stage at Constitution Hall in D.C. Viktor Green lives one block away from Yorktown High School, and so throughout the sports seasons the teams would come over to their house for lunches and snacks.
“Our house was the place to go,” laughed Jerry Green, Viktor’s father. “We always went through sandwich bread quickly.”
Arlington has been home for Viktor Green since his parents adopted him from Russia when he was 7. Viktor Green will be attending Davis-Elkins College. His mother Barbara Porter says he leaves behind a lot of friends.
Stephanie Francis also was attending the graduation of her son, Nicholas Francis, who will be attending Mary Washington in the fall.
“I’m nervous, more than I expected,” said Francis. “You know what’s going to happen, but in other ways, you really don’t. It’s a wide open future.”
One of the difficult themes for students at Yorktown’s Graduation was dealing with loss and disappointment in big and small ways. Stephanie Francis said her son was a coxswain on the crew team, and that they lost a fair amount of matches in their final season, but that she was proud of the way he was able to keep his head up and maintain high spirits.
For many in the senior class, the struggles with loss were of a much heavier nature. Henry Burneson would have graduated with the Yorktown Class of 2016 had it not been for leukemia that took his life on Oct. 16, 2015 after a nine-month battle.
“Henry was an impeccable classmate, teammate, and friend,” said senior class president Caroline Larson. The whole auditorium paused for a moment of silence.
Alison Butler said her daughter, Amy Butler, struggled with the loss of her friend throughout the past year. Alison Butler said her daughter took the loss hard, and that she’s proud that her daughter kept working hard and pushing through her grief. As a mother, Alison Butler said she’s particularly proud of Amy Butler’s one-person senior show.
“She spoke in front of a crowd and did very well,” said Alison Butler. “I never would have expected that. I’m so proud.”
For Charlotte Crockett, the loss was that of her father, who died of Parkinson’s Disease and dementia during her senior year.
“He always wanted to know what I learned in school,” said Crockett. “If I could tell him what I learned from his passing, I would tell him that death makes you realize the truly important things … I will always remember the friends who became family, who supported me endlessly through the hardest time of my life.”
Amy Thompson and her husband, cartoonist Richard Thompson, watched her older daughter walk past her in the aisle in the cap and gown three years ago. This year, Amy Thompson says she expects her favorite part will again be watching her daughter Charlotte Thompson walk past her. Charlotte Thompson will be attending the Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall.
“It’s such a relief,” said Amy Thompson.
Many of the families watching the graduations extended beyond parents and siblings. Elsie Neighbors was there to see her great granddaughter Brianna Banks graduate from the same school where she’d worked as a custodian for 31 years.
“”I’ve been here for 29 graduations,” said Neighbors, “and now I’m here for my great granddaughter’s. It feels good.”