Capping it all off at graduation

Members of Watertown High’s Class of 2021 made their own fashion statements with their caps and gowns

Students in the Class of 2021 added individual design touches to their caps and gowns for the Watertown High School graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field.

When it came time to say goodbye to Watertown High School, many students in the Class of 2021 made their own fashion statements with their caps and gowns at graduation, which was held June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. Below are some of the stories behind some of the interesting mortarboards.

To see a photo gallery of more caps and gowns from WHS Graduation 2021, click on the image above.

Interviews by Isabella Nitschke, photos by Leah Knipper-Davis.

Leticia Rita Santos

Leticia Rita Santos and other members of the Watertown High Class of 2021 decorated their mortarboards for graduation ceremonies on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I put the emblem of the school I’m going to, Framingham State, and then I really like sunflowers and it matched the colors.”

Jack Nicholas

Jack Nicholas and other members of the Watertown High Class of 2021 decorated their mortarboards for graduation ceremonies on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I put BSU, or Bridgewater State, on my cap, which is where I’m going next year. I also put a picture of me and Kenan Canca from the fifth-grade social to an updated version of us at senior prom because we made it through together.”

Kenan Canca

Kenan Canca and other members of the Watertown High Class of 2021 decorated their mortarboards for graduation ceremonies on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I put on my cap UMass Amherst because that’s where I’m going next year. I also put a baby picture of myself and then a picture of me at senior prom, just to show the difference and how I evolved. And I also put ‘PVO,’ because positive vibes only.”

Teodora Misic

Teodora Misic and other members of the Class of 2021 decorated their mortarboards for Watertown High’s graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“On my cap I put a bunch of different stickers that basically sum up a lot of high school. Like science, Netflix, and then where I’m going to school next year, Boston University.”

Bridget Sullivan

Bridget Sullivan and other members of the Class of 2021 decorated their mortarboards for Watertown High’s graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“On my cap I wrote, ‘Watertown ’21,’ and then ‘WCU Gymnastics’ because that’s where I’m headed next.”

Emma Forde

Emma Forde and other members of the Class of 2021 decorated their mortarboards for Watertown High’s graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

On Emma’s cap is the word Carolina, because she will be attending the University of South Carolina next year.

Leah D’Amico

Leah D’Amico and other students in the Class of 2021 added design touches to their caps for the Watertown High graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I’m going to UMass Lowell and I’m studying nursing there so I wrote that on my cap. I thought it was special to write that I’m going into nursing because it’s really important to me. I also put some glitter to make it really sparkly and then I have the [UMass Lowell] mascot, which is a river hawk.”

Gacia Vosbigian

Gacia Vosbigian and other students in the Class of 2021 added design touches to their caps for the Watertown High graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I decided to put jewels in the color of the Armenian flag on my cap because I’m Armenian, and I put UD Mercy [for University of Detroit Mercy] because that’s where I’m going.”

Hannah Moylan

Hannah Moylan and other students in the Class of 2021 added design touches to their caps for the Watertown High graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I put my college that I’m going to go to next, which is Lesley University, with some white daisies. And then I also wrote a little farewell to the people in my class at the bottom.”

Caiden Kiani

Caiden Kiani and other students in the Class of 2021 added design touches to their caps for the Watertown High graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I put a bunch of different Yu-Gi-Oh cards on my cap. In elementary school, I was big into Yu-Gi-Oh and it kickstarted some other interests in my life. I actually wrote my college essay about Yu-Gi-Oh cards, so they’re just a pretty important part in my life.”

Cooper Petrie

Cooper Petrie and other students in the Class of 2021 added design touches to their caps for the Watertown High School graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

Cooper Petrie probably had the most interesting cap at graduation, which was a piece of turf from Home Depot on top. He thought it would be funny and would look very cool.

Elaine Andrade

Elaine Andrade’s graduation cap on display during the Watertown High School graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I put my college, which is PC [Providence College], and then ‘On to the next’ because I’m moving on to the next chapter in my life.”

Leah Bailey

Leah Bailey’s graduation cap on display during the Watertown High School graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“I did the Harvard shield, because I’m going to Harvard, and then I did two oars, one of them is CRI [Community Rowing Inc.], which is the high school team I row for, and then the other one is the Harvard oar.”

David Manoukian

David Manoukian displays his personalized cap during the Watertown High School graduation on June 5, 2021, at Victory Field. (Raider Times photo / Leah Knipper-Davis)

“My group of friends and I, we’ve been watching these videos ever since the beginning of senior year and they’re hilarious. We’ve always quoted them and we’ve kinda spread the slang and lingo throughout the grade and so I put a bunch of the quotes on my cap.”

–June 5, 2021–