High School’s Graduation Ceremony Flash Mob Is Amazing!

Ten years ago, I graduated from Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, NH (wait, has it really been that long?!). The highlight of my graduation ceremony was when they played Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” and one brave student stood up and danced. The class of 2015 took it to a whole new level.

Screenshot from Youtube
Screenshot from Youtube

When you go to a high school that isn’t exactly known for it’s athletic prowess (and has a mascot as lame as a Clipper Ship- yes, a boat), it’s hard to really stand out. But the valedictorian for the class of 2015 wanted to do something fun and different, and now the high school’s graduation ceremony has become a viral sensation.

Colin Yost, who wants to be a heart surgeon and starts college in the fall at Princeton, said he got help from friends to pull it all off:

“I’ve always wanted to do a flash mob and I thought graduation would be the perfect place because our class is very cohesive and doesn’t really have a lot of cliques…I was listening to ‘Shake It Off? in the car and I thought that would be great for a flash mob so I talked to a few of my friends about making it happen…As we practiced, the energy was just building and everyone was feeling how great it was to work together and send this positive message.”

The graduation ceremony started just like any other, and parents had no idea what was coming. Yost finished his valedictorian speech by telling his fellow students to embrace their inner nerds. When Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” began playing, Yost started to dance?alone. Then, row by row, the rest of the 230 graduating students joined in, and the rest is history.

Check out the video below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgtzXNva3Z4