Project Graduation is an event that serves as a safe place for graduating seniors to have fun and enjoy their first night as high school graduates. Taking place in the MSU Recreational Center on the Missouri State University campus following the graduation ceremony, Project Graduation will consist of several planned activities, such as volleyball, basketball, swimming and rock wall climbing, as well as have a gaming room and a hired hypnotist.

With a goal of raising between $12,000 and $15,000 for expenses, Project Grad is funded by many events and fundraisers that seniors and their parents can volunteer to help with.  From online auctions to raffling off Kansas City Chiefs tickets, there are many opportunities to help raise money, including helping with “Split the Pot” at the Fair Grove home football, volleyball, and basketball games, or working at parking lots and in the McAllister’s Tea Booth during the Heritage Festival. For every 2 hours a student works, they will receive a ticket that will be used in a raffle during Project Grad, with items such as $500 gift cards, free movie tickets, big screen televisions, and tickets to “Lucas Oil Speedway.”

Project Graduation isn’t only a party, the event occurs so that seniors can celebrate their academic accomplishments in an environment that doesn’t encourage the use of drugs and alcohol, unlike many situations they may find themselves in. With car accidents being the largest cause of death in teens, especially after graduation and prom, Project Grad gives graduates the opportunity to enjoy their night without substance abuse, or putting themselves and others at risk of accidents. Stacy Beckley expressed, “On a night as important as graduation, parents as well as the community and school, want it to be one of your best memories in life, not one of your worst.”

Graduating seniors have been attending Project Graduation for years, becoming a tradition that is anticipated throughout the entire school year, and is seen as the final taste of high school. “It’ll be fun,” Heather McDougal explained, “ It’s our last “get together” before we graduate and have to go our separate ways.”