Which will it be, Rosemont or ESU? College reveal parties are becoming a thing.
“Everything with me is big and grand,” said Fuller. “I said, ‘I’m not going to have a regular [graduation] party.’"
![Luvonda Fuller at her college reveal trunk party. She announced to family and friends that she's attending Rosemont College.](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/MmmIDOo__BaMAcqfbwQuV1PoRDU=/760x507/smart/filters:format(webp)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/VJWVSLCUEZB7BMRMOMARQEZN5Y.jpg)
Philly teenager Luvonda Fuller worked hard over four years at Franklin Learning Center, a top city magnet school.
It surprised no one who knows her that Fuller, a bright and bubbly 18-year-old, chose to celebrate her accomplishment in a splashy way.
All through the spring and into the summer, Fuller’s friends announced their college choices. But she kept hers under wraps, saving the big news for a “college reveal” celebration in which she built up the suspense, then declared her decision in front of a crowd of 50.
Gender reveals, the now-popular parties where expectant parents learn the sex of their baby as friends and family look on, seemed fun, Fuller figured. But why should she wait until she has a baby, years down the line, to have some fun, too?
“Everything with me is big and grand,” said Fuller, who lives in North Philadelphia. “I said, ‘I’m not going to have a regular party.’ "
Fuller is in the vanguard, but not alone. While not yet common, college reveal parties, videos, and photo shoots are beginning to pop up on social media and around the country.
Which explains why Fuller found herself in a room at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel near the Philadelphia International Airport early this month, wearing denim shorts onto which she painted the logos of East Stroudsburg University and Rosemont College — her top school choices — encouraging guests to clip pins with their predictions onto their shirts.
“ESU or Rosemont?” read the cake. Decorations featuring each school’s mascot hung on the walls. (Fuller’s aunt, Latonya Lynch, the family party planner, took the college reveal theme and ran with it, from wall art to party favors.)
Piled on a table near the room’s entrance were piles of presents — a microwave, a backpack, a full-length mirror, pillows, towels. Yes, the college reveal was part of the lure, but the soiree was also a trunk party, a way for guests to shower Fuller with the things she’s need for her new life in some to-be-determined dorm.
Fuller buzzed around the room, encouraging this guest to get a plate of food, telling that one to play a “graduate trivia” game, making their best guesses at questions like, “What was the graduate’s hardest subject in school?” and “Did the graduate ever get an F on a test?” (English, and no, respectively.)
Some guests were anxious. Lena Reynolds, an aunt, wore an “I want ESU shirt,” while Fuller’s grandma sported a shirt declaring her Rosemont allegiance.
When the time came for the big reveal, Fuller stood at a table with two baseball caps in front of her. She talked about her deliberations, how she talked to her parents and prayed, how East Stroudsburg accepted her on the spot and how Rosemont made her wait a little while.
“I’m an excellent student, and I work hard for everything that I have,” said Fuller, an active student who started Positive Vibes Only, a teen support group at her school and church, and maintained a good GPA.
» READ MORE: Got a winner of a good-health idea? At CHOP, employees are given grants to bring them to life.
First, East Stroudsburg gave her a full scholarship, Fuller said. The crowd gasped, sure she had announced her intentions. And then, a twist — Rosemont gave her a full scholarship and admitted her to its honors program.
“In the fall, I will be going to Rosemont College,” Fuller said, picking up the Rosemont hat. “I would get my education no matter what, but now when I’m at college, I don’t have to worry about a dime.”
The crowd went wild. Fuller beamed.
Reynolds, Fuller’s Aunt Lena, had been pro-East Stroudsburg leading up to the reveal. But mostly, she said, she was glad to give her niece a good start on her way to college, and to celebrate her accomplishments.
“If she’s happy,” Reynolds said, “I’m happy.”