Ever since Dominion opened up in 2003, graduation has always taken place at school, either in the gym or on the stadium field. This year, however, it will be taking place at the ION Training Center in Leesburg, on June 12 at 10am, due to the senior class size of 401 seniors. This change was made to make the graduation more suitable and enjoyable for many family members of the graduating class. 

If graduation took place in the gym this year, each student would have only four tickets for family and friends to watch graduation in the gym, compared to six tickets in past years. The students and parents of the senior class received an email over the summer asking if they would be comfortable only having four tickets for seats in the gym, and most were not okay with it, according to Dr. Brewer. Loudoun County made the decision to move the graduation to make it suitable for the senior class and their families.

Dr. Brewer is in charge of planning and making the changes to the event. “We went seeking another place to hold graduation so we can invite more guests to see the graduation face-to-face,” Brewer said. The ION training center has a maximum capacity of 5,500 for guests that will be sitting in the stands, meaning that tickets may not even need to be handed out. “I don’t think we will be handing out tickets, although I do have to ask some principals at other schools who have held their graduations at similar venues,” Brewer said.

Concerning graduation rehearsals, Dr. Brewer explained, “They will be here at Dominion. We won’t be able to rehearse there [at ION] but we’ll be really well prepared so that when we get there, we will know exactly what to expect”. Brewer explained that there will be no other major changes made to the graduation process this year.