Melbourne High

A Brand New Start by Kyra Chang

Every new start deserves a celebration. On Thursday, October 16th, the IB juniors were officially inducted into the program, giving recognition for the difficulties they were about to face. This was a yearly tradition of the program where seniors and staff would put together the event to celebrate the juniors’ start on a difficult path. One senior that helped put the event together was Raphael Yucon. “The IB induction is a ceremony in which the newly registered IB students (juniors) are formally introduced into the IB program. Some memorable moments are taking the IB oath, skimming through IB exhibitions, and walking up the stage. In my opinion, it marks a new beginning of their highschool lives and especially sets the stage for the IB journey,” said Yucon. 

The seniors did several things in order to make the induction wonderful. One of these things was presenting their Theory of Knowledge (TOK) boards to the juniors and the juniors’ parents. These boards were a project that the 11th graders in the IB Diploma program would have to do this year. “As seniors, we played a role in providing an outlook on their future experiences in the program, and helped guide them and their parents around the induction. For example, I presented my exhibition to a hearty amount of people during the induction, giving out examples of future Theory of Knowledge prompts,” said Yucon. 

As a senior, Yucon felt that the event made the juniors feel more a part of the program. “The induction establishes a ‘welcome’ for all of the juniors. It really lets them know that they are truly one of us now, and the IB induction shows that everyone has the support of everyone,” said Yucon. He was also friends with many of the juniors, so watching them walk the stage made him very proud. “It feels wonderful to be a part of their start because I personally have friends that are IB juniors, and it’s really heartwarming to see them blossom as IB students officially. It makes me feel old because I was in their shoes too,” said Yucon. This event was a way for seniors to support the incoming juniors and their friends on the start of their IB journey. 

Caption: By The Board: At the IB Induction, senior Raphael Yucon presents his TOK exhibition board to incoming IB juniors. Before the official ceremony, the juniors walked through the 8 building to observe projects that they would have to do later in the year. Yucon was glad that he got to present his exhibition. “The best part [of induction] was definitely presenting my exhibition. I had forgotten how fun it was presenting to the current juniors so it was more of a refreshing moment,” said Yucon. 

Photo by Ansleigh Friday