Every year, students gather in the JMU Convocation Center for their last high school assembly. Their names are called in front of their friends, family and the teachers that guided them throughout the last four years.
Last words are said, teachers congratulate their students, and friends are saying goodbye as their lives lead them in different directions. On the car ride home, the graduated senior’s mind may be swimming with memories they’ll never want to forget. No matter what happens from then on, they will always be HHS graduates.
Many students choose to preserve those memories in the form of a ring. Students pay anywhere from $50 to $800 on a class ring. The price varies due to how elaborate someone wants their ring – what stone, what metal, and what decals.
“The most expensive ring I have with me today is $750. It has real diamonds and a 14K gold band. But nobody ever gets that.” Jeff Adams, Josten representative said.
Josten’s has been supplying Harrisonburg High School’s class rings for 15-20 years, selling 60-70 rings each year.
“Girls buy more. They care more about jewelry than guys do,” Adams said. “Guys usually buy them because their moms want them to.”
However, junior Shannon Tucker got a ring for a different reason. “I decided to get one so I could remember the high school I went to. I want to remember all the good times, good memories. Also I want to remember all the friends I’ve made.”
Students personalize their rings however they want, with symbols of clubs, sports they joined, like the volleyball team, football team, band, or Key Club. Whatever memories that are most important to a student can be put on the ring like initials, jersey numbers and representations of the school.
The most popular design for a ring is called “The Tribute,” and it is the standard ring for a boy. Tucker chose the female version of the Tribute. “It has the mascot [blue streak] and the state of Virginia. It’s the typical class ring if you don’t pick anything.”
Alumni Brittney Payne, (class of 2009) got her $100 class ring for a different reason. “My parents bought it for me, it was my birthday present.”
Payne’s ring has a dancer and a cross on one side, and a dove and bibles on the other. “It reminds me of the good times I had in high school. All my dance team memories, football games, pep rallies, those kinds of things.”
Graduation is the end of high school, symbolized by caps being thrown. But what most people don’t pay attention to is the rings on the hands that are launching the caps in the air. The seniors can proudly wear the symbol of the last four years of their life.
