In mid-June, Northwestern
announced their renovation plans for
the Welsh-Ryan Arena, prompting
New Trier to sign a contract with
the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman
Estates.
Faculty and administrators,
with input from parents, spent a few
months hunting for possible locations
to host graduation. They evaluated 13
of them before settling on one.
Some of the other locations
under consideration included the
All-State Arena, Rosemont Theatre,
Ravinia Pavilion, and Willow Creek
Church.
There were a lot of factors taken
into account when deciding on a
location.
Denise Dubravec, the Winnetka
campus principal, said, “We needed
a venue that could coordinate a
commencement ceremony for
approximately 1,000 graduates and
accommodate more than 8,000 guests
and was handicap accessible. We
also wanted to try and keep the date
of June 4th.”
In addition to these requirements,
a location closer to Winnetka was
preferable but not available.
“As we reviewed each site, we
discussed what is most important
to our families,” Dubravec said. It
seemed more critical to the faculty
and administrators to find a place
that could allow them to still offer
each student six tickets, instead of
choosing a smaller, nearby location
that wouldn’t accommodate all
family members.
However, it may prove difficult
for the graduates and their families to
arrange transportation to a location
almost 30 miles away.
Senior Hanna Shekari said, “The
one hour drive there will be tedious
for me and my family.”
Senior Allison Thabit said that
it would impact her extended family,
especially.
“My cousins and grandparents
will be coming from different states
and will only be here for a short time.
It will just be really difficult for them
to fly here, get to Hoffman Estates,
and fly back, all in the same day.”
To make attending graduation
accessible and possible for students,
the school is “going to offer students
transportation from New Trier
to the Sears Centre on the day of
commencement,” Dubravec said.
In case any family members
aren’t able to go to graduation,
they will offer a live stream of the
ceremony as well.
In previous years, New Trier paired up with Evanston Township
High School to schedule their
graduation ceremonies on the same
day at the same location. This year is
no different. They worked together to
find a new location because, “sharing
the venue offers cost savings to both
schools,” Dubravec said.
Stevenson High School also
hosts their graduation ceremony at the
Sears Centre Arena. They were able
to provide suggestions and “valuable
information about how they use the
venue for their commencement,”
according to Dubravec.
While there have been various
concerns about the distance of the
venue, Dubravec touches on all
the benefits of it. “The pros include
air conditioning, parking for 2,500
vehicles, and individual theatrestyle
seating (rather than bleacher
seating) for guests– all improvements
over Northwestern. The facility has
experience planning and coordinating
large scale events with similar
requirements.”
Senior Kelly Zabors seems to
be weary of how beneficial the new
venue will be. She said, “I spent four
years of the most difficult years of
my life dealing with construction and
weird schedules. It just wouldn’t be
a New Trier graduation without some
unexpected obstacle in our way.”