Local high schools celebrate graduation ceremonies

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Shawnee County High Schools celebrated the class of 2024 this weekend. 

The Stormont Vail Events Center hosted over 20,000 friends and family members over two days to watch as the graduates took the stage. 

Graduates from Topeka, Topeka West, Highland Park, Shawnee Heights, Seaman and Washburn Rural all turned their tassels from one chapter to the next. 

Stormont Vail Events Center General Manager Kellen Seitz said it was a great opportunity for the community to gather for this special weekend. 

"It's a really special day for our community. It's a special day for the graduates, it's a special day for the families. "

Shawnee Heights High School language arts teacher, Julie Burgardt Coulter, left students with a piece of advice as they left the center. 

"I hope they just go and make this whole place better," Burgardt Coulter said. "Whether that be for Topeka or wherever they are from they make the place better than they found it." 

With an event such as this, it takes a lot of planning to pull it off without a hitch. With this year's graduation officially in the books, the event center now begins work for next year's ceremonies. 

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