‘SENIOR SUNRISE’: Malden High School Class of 2026 members ‘rise and shine’

About 150 MHS seniors trek to Waitts Mount to watch the sun rise together in traditional event

By Steve Freker

They took an existing tradition to a higher level last week — literally— when the Malden High School Class of 2026 went on a mountain journey to celebrate “Senior Sunrise”.
Led by Class of 2026 President Linh Do and clutching some of the earliest Dunkin’ breakfast they have probably had in all of their lives, close to 150 hardy seniors participated in this memorable event.
Atop historic Waitts Mount, which is said to have been used as a lookout spot in both the Revolutionary War in the last 1700s and the Civil War from 1861-1865, the Malden Seniors gathered before dawn. It is the highest elevation spot in the city of Malden at 223 feet.
In darkness, on Wednesday, September 3, the seniors got together and walked up the steep hill at Waitts Mount, most before 5:00 a.m. There they waited, witnessing the expansive view of the Malden and Boston skyline, still lit up in the darkness.
They waited for the 6:11 a.m. sunrise, eliciting some cheers from the group, who took in the moment, shared with their classmates as a tradition to start a new school year, their final one as classmates.
Then it was off to school at Malden High for the fourth official day of the 2025-26 school year.
“It was great to see such a large number of seniors participating in this event, which takes a lot to get up at 4:30 or close to it in the morning,” said Malden High 9th-year principal Chris Mastrangelo. “We are expecting a great year from our seniors and they certainly are showing it from the start.”

Malden High senior Keith Vien was one of the many Class of 2026 members who thoroughly enjoyed the morning journey. “We all had a great time, it was really nice to do something like this as a group so early in the school year,” said Vien. “Everyone bonded together and we know that will continue all school year.”