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

“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

“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

“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

“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

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

Emma Forde

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

Leah D’Amico

“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

“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

“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

“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 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

“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

“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

“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–