If you don’t already do something at the end of the year to acknowledge seniors in your group now is a good time to start thinking about a way to encourage them before they graduate. One of the things I enjoyed during my time as a student at SUNY Oswego was an annual Senior Share and Prayer Night.
Every year as we got closer to the end of the year we would take one night and devote it to the seniors. Those students would be notified about the meeting and asked to share a couple weeks ahead of time to give them some time to prepare. Then we would get the chance to hear what they had learned during their time at college, what God had done in their lives, funny stories, etc.
The amount of time they took would always depend on how many seniors there were, but typically each would share for 5-10 minutes. This was an opportunity for them to have their “last hurrah” of sorts and then we would close the time by gathering around them and praying for each one. Other than hearing what was on their hearts, as an underclassmen I also enjoyed hearing what they had learned and what they would have done differently if they could do it all again.
If you’re going to do something like this be sure to include any students who will be graduating the following December so no one gets left out. You could even take this a step further and have only seniors lead worship that night as a way of dedicating the night entirely to them. This can be a really fun way to give them a send off and create a great memory for when they look back on their time in college!
Has your group done any senior-specific events to give them time in the spotlight and appreciate them?