Cape Girardeau Central High School held its annual celebration of Senior Decision Day on Friday, treating seniors to a raffle with prizes, pizza and a generally festive atmosphere complete with glow sticks and music.

Two students, Sophia Sapp and her friend Jaylee Spain, were roaming the small gym before events began. They explained the annual event highlights the next steps for the soon-to-be graduates.

“College decision,” Sapp said.

“Or what you want to do after high school. So it could be somebody entering the military or going into the workforce or picking a college,” Spain interrupted. “This is a time to celebrate the seniors who are doing something after high school, who are announcing what they’re gonna be doing after high school.”

The two young women reported they will be attending college.

Cape Girardeau Central High School students, from left, Zoey Mayfield, Parris Nathan, Lamayah Mackins and Ava Nelson, attend the school’s Senior Decision Day on Friday.Michael Leifer ~ mleifer@semissourian.com

Kristen Tallent, communications director for the Cape Girardeau School District, said the event is a look forward.

“I would say this is about connecting students to their life beyond high school. We want them to have success here, but we also want that success to continue once they leave our door. That can happen a number of different ways, like going into the military, getting an associate’s degree at a two-year college, getting industry-recognized training at the [Career and Technical Center], or going into a four-year institution,” she said. “It can also mean going immediately into the job force. We want to celebrate all of those things because they all are elements of success and we want these students to be people who are contributing to our society here in Cape Girardeau. It’s something to be celebrated and it’s really an exciting day for all of our kids.”

Cape Girardeau Central High School students, from left, Bradyn Pitman, Bella Dennis and Abbie Simon, attend the school’s Senior Decision Day on Friday. Michael Leifer ~ mleifer@semissourian.com

One of the seniors, Garrison Cabral, was joined by his Air Force recruiter, Tech. Sgt. Salvadore Zepeda. Because of an unusually high level of physical ability, along with mental fitness, Cabral was selected for an elite pararescue branch. After trying out for the special warfare operations branch, Cabral, in the words of his recruiter, “blew it out of the water.” The recruiter reported being especially proud of his recruit, considering only about 2% of people end up in special operations. Cabral said he is leaving July 5 to begin his service.

Another organization also in attendance was rootEd Missouri, a partnership between Ozarks Technical Community College and rootEd Alliance. Regional director Terresa Shwartz represented the organization.

Recruiters for, from left, the Air Force, Navy and Marines, represented the U.S. military during Friday’s Cape Girardeau Central High School’s Senior Decision Day.Michael Leifer ~ mleifer@semissourian.com

“RootED Missouri puts close secondary advisers into rural high schools so that every kid, whether military, workforce or college, has a solid plan when they graduate,” Shwartz said, presiding over a table filled with electronic gadgets.

“We provided all of the prizes here. We’re doing it in conjunction with the school,” she added.

RootED provided a gift card to every senior, regardless of whether they won in the raffle. Among prizes raffled off were portable power banks, power strips and two $75 Amazon gift cards.