For generations of students at Rossville High School, the senior trip has been more than just a vacation. It has become a rite of passage, a final shared adventure before graduation sends classmates in different directions. This year, 58 members of the Rossville High School Class of 2026 traveled to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, continuing a tradition that stretches back decades and connects students not only to each other, but to parents and grandparents who once made the same journey.
The five-day trip included visits to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Springs, and even Blizzard Beach Water Park. Students stayed at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort and traveled together on a carefully organized itinerary that many described as seamless, despite the group’s size.
For seniors Madison Skiles, Addy Gergely, Ashton Abbott, and Brody Skinner, the trip represented something much deeper than theme parks and roller coasters.
“I know my dad went on the senior trip when he was in high school because he attended Rossville,” Madison Skiles said. “Addy’s mom was in the same class as my dad, so it was kind of fun for us to be able to go on the same trip that our parents went on together. It’s one last good experience to bring us all together before we start going our separate ways.”
Addy Gergely echoed that sentiment, noting that her grandparents, Rossville graduates from the early 1980s, also participated in the tradition.
“It’s really special to have that connection,” she said.
For many students, one of the most meaningful parts of the trip was the opportunity to spend time with classmates outside of the normal routines of school life.
“With such a small class, we’re able to all go and experience something that you might not typically get to do in a normal high school experience,” Ashton Abbott said. “You get to make core memories with kids that you might not see for the rest of your life. It’s kind of the last cool hurrah.”
Brody Skinner said the memories made during the trip are already becoming stories that the class continues to laugh about together.
“It was really fun to come home and tell all the stories to our parents and friends,” Skinner said. “We still make jokes about it.”
Ironically, some of the students’ favorite moments happened while waiting in long lines or riding crowded buses between parks.
Skinner recalled riding the Hollywood Tower of Terror with classmates who were experiencing the attraction for the first time.
“They were freaking out the entire time,” he laughed. “Coach Dunn and Shane were on it, too. I had already been on it before, so I was mostly watching them react.”
But beyond the rides themselves, students repeatedly pointed to the conversations, jokes, and shared experiences that happened during the quieter moments.
“I think waiting in lines was where a lot of fun happened, too,” Skinner added. “Everybody was together, talking, playing games, and joking around.”
Skiles agreed, saying the group she spent most of the trip with included classmates she had not talked to regularly in years.
“Some of them weren’t necessarily people I would normally hang out with at school,” she said. “But we just had so much fun together. The people I was with down there were probably my favorite part of the trip.”
The travel itself became part of the adventure. For some students, it was their first time flying.
“I had to hold someone’s hand during takeoff,” one student joked, while others recalled classmates plastered against airplane windows in nervous excitement.
Despite traveling with 64 people in total, including chaperones, students praised the trip’s organization and the work of the adults who coordinated it.
“Everything was so organized,” Abbott said. “With airlines and buses and all the moving parts, everything went really smoothly.”
Students credited the chaperones for maintaining communication and ensuring everyone stayed safe while still allowing the seniors to explore the parks in smaller groups.
“Communication on Team Reach was really good,” Skinner explained. “If people wanted to go to different parks or different places, they always had chaperones assigned and attendance taken.”
As the trip progressed, many students began to realize how quickly their high school years were coming to an end.
Skiles remembered one especially quiet moment late at night while walking through Epcot after a hibachi dinner with classmates.
“We were talking about how we only had about a week of school left, then finals, AP exams, and graduation,” she said. “The park was empty and quiet, and it was the first moment where everything really hit us.”
For others, the realization came during long bus rides and conversations about future plans.
Students discussed colleges, careers, and what life would look like after graduation. Members of the group are headed to destinations including Purdue University and Iowa State University.
“You start realizing this is really the end of the journey together,” Skinner said.
Throughout the interviews, students repeatedly emphasized their gratitude to parents, staff members, and the Rossville community for their financial and emotional support of the trip.
Community fundraisers, including the senior fish fry and after-prom efforts, helped provide many students with Disney gift cards and additional support.
“The community knows how impactful the senior trip is because many of them went on it themselves,” Abbott said. “They want to make sure the tradition continues for years to come.”
Students also reflected on what makes Rossville unique.
“I feel fortunate to know every single kid in my class,” Skiles said. “I have friends at bigger schools who don’t even know half the people they graduate with.”
Abbott added that Rossville’s close-knit environment creates lifelong connections.
“You can’t walk down the hallway without someone saying hi to you,” he said. “Nobody’s really a stranger here.”
As graduation approaches, another Rossville tradition, the Senior Walk through the elementary school, has students reflecting on just how quickly time has passed.
“I remember doing that walk when I was little and thinking graduation felt forever away,” one student said. “Now we’re the ones wearing the caps and gowns.”
For the Rossville High School Class of 2026, the senior trip was more than a visit to Disney World. It was a celebration of friendships, traditions, community support, and the memories created together from kindergarten through senior year.
And years from now, when members of the Class of 2026 run into one another at a store, a reunion, or somewhere back home in Rossville, they will likely still remember the bus rides, the late-night conversations, the laughter in line for rides, and one final adventure shared together before stepping into the next chapter of life.
