Justin Banks – Staff Writer

For many seniors, graduation being six weeks away is too surreal to even comprehend.

There is a mix of feelings in regard to May 10: Some are enjoying their time until then; some are in dreadful anticipation; and others are unconcerned. Regardless of which category a senior fits into, most of them will be parting ways with their Dordt friends in a few short weeks.

One of Dordt’s major selling points is the community. The smaller enrollment numbers at Dordt allow students to form connections with teachers and other students in ways they might not have been able to do at a larger university.

“I’ll remember all the things that my friends and I have gone through,” senior Jo-Anna Vollink said.

Some note the location of the college as a downside, but senior Kaylee Brower believes it allowed her to form close relationships with people she now considers lifelong friends.

For Brower, it will be hard saying goodbye, but she is excited to attend a few of their weddings this upcoming summer. She has not spent a lot of time thinking about how she will keep up with her friends after graduation, but she is sure that she will miss them.

As the school year comes to an end and a chapter comes to a close for the last graduating class of Dordt College, hearts are heavy—but still optimistic about the future. Senior Daniel Ebmeier believes social media will be his way of keeping up with friends.

A group of senior girls sits in their Kuyper living room talking about weddings that have not been planned, trips that have not been scheduled and other future memories they hope to share after their time at Dordt comes to an end. While classes together may stop, the memories don’t have to.

“We’re all going in different directions, and it would be nice to keep in touch because [my friends] have been a part of my life for the past four years,” senior Michaela Schotanus said.