Confetti and caps fly as Class of 2025 soars into future

Yahoo

31-05-2025

You can practically hear "Pomp and Circumstance" and feel the confetti raining down on the crowd as you flip the tassel on a decorated mortarboard.
This joyful Photo of the Week by FLORIDA TODAY's TIm Shortt, of Titusville Terriers celebrating the "big walk," seems to express the overall spirit shared throughout Brevard County as more than 5,000 students graduated from more than two dozen high schools in May. FLORIDA TODAY was there for many of those celebrations, and also captured the action as diplomas were conferred at Eastern Florida State College and Florida Tech.
Between veteran photographer Craig Bailey and Shortt, and with an assist from reporters Tyler Vazquez, J.D. Gallop, Finch Walker and Amber Oleson, a treasure trove of memorable moments was captured.
"Anyone who has attended as many gradations as I have through the decades knows how many extraordinary young people we have here in Brevard," said Shortt.
"We too often hear about the bad apples, but I can attest that the vast majority are bright, determined and are going to do just fine."
This year, Shortt shot graduations at at least nine schools, including Eastern Florida State College, where he majored in photography back when it was Brevard Community College.
This image was his overall favorite — and as a bonus, his niece, Maddie Jones, was among the grads there.
"I graduated Astronaut in '78, and while a proud War Eagle from across town, I gotta give credit to our rivals over the years for a fantastic ceremony," he said.
"On this night, I was full-on Go Terriers!'
For more photos from graduations around the Space Coast, click here.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Confetti, caps, Class of 2025: Oh, what a night! | Photo of the Week