Morgan Hill - The crowd gathered inside the gym was barely subdued, pent-up emotion oozing out almost tangibly between the closely packed grads and their guests as they waited for yet another first in the short, three-year history of Sobrato High School - its very first commencement ceremony Friday afternoon.
Tickets were issued for the event, held in the school's gym, which barely contained the well-wishers.
But nothing could take away the feeling of being a part of the school's first graduation, celebrating the first graduating class in the history of the school.
John Michael Sobrato told the packed gym that his mother, school namesake Ann Sobrato, would have loved to have been a part of the commencement. Ann died before construction of the school was complete in 2004.
"How happy my family is to be associated with this wonderful high school," he said. "We are here to recognize the commitment these graduates made to education; don't let it stop here."
Students presented John with a Sobrato High letterman jacket.
Seniors also revealed their gift to the school, a mural on the gym wall depicting a fierce bulldog, teeth bared, breaking through the bricks, his menacing glare directed toward the visitor bleachers.
When the last speaker concluded, the crowd in the gym calmed for the presentation of diplomas. The quiet was short-lived, as every graduate to mount the stage shook hands with Sobrato principal Rich Knapp and Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent Alan Nishino.
MHUSD Trustee Kathy Sullivan gave her son, Danny, his diploma; he, in turn, slipped her a tissue as he embraced her.
"It's such a special moment, he knew I would cry," she later laughed, her eyes still teary with the impact of the special occasion for the school as well as her family.
Deafening cheers, applause and a standing ovation accompanied the first Sobrato alumni during the recessional to end the emotion-filled ceremony. The grassy amphitheater between the gym and the library was soon teaming with maroon-garbed, grinning grads and enthusiastic supporters.
Thomas Cornejo, who with other family members crowded around his son, graduate Jorge, said the day would be a memorable one for the family.
"I am very excited, and very proud," he said.
Jorge, who played football for two years, plans to attend Evergreen College.
Senior Genaro Redmond, who was named best male senior athlete, smiled broadly as he recalled receiving his diploma as his classmates and the crowd not only applauded but honored him with a chorus of Bulldog "barks."
"I can't believe it, I really felt the love," he said afterwards.
Katie Peterson, a Live Oak High graduate, was on hand to watch younger sister, Jill, become one of Sobrato's first alumni.
"I am really proud of her," she said with a happy smile. "This is so special for her. She's done so much here."
Jill was active in Associated Student Body activities during her three years at Sobrato and was named the school's first senior prom queen.
A starter for Sobrato's first varsity football team, Bulldog grad Darian Chatman will go on to play football for DeAnza college. He summed up what many call the school's "culture" with a one-sentence characterization of its first graduating class.
"We're all so diverse, but we all get along," he said.
Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or send her an email.
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