It was an event 100 years in the making: The centennial class of
Live Oak High School strutted across the stage last Friday evening
to collect their diplomas and close the book on their high school
careers. And the 458 graduates in the centennial class of 2005 went
out with style and grace as they said goodbye to the school they
had attended since they were sophomores.
It was an event 100 years in the making: The centennial class of Live Oak High School strutted across the stage last Friday evening to collect their diplomas and close the book on their high school careers.
And the 458 graduates in the centennial class of 2005 went out with style and grace as they said goodbye to the school they had attended since they were sophomores.
Parents, family and friends packed into every available seat on Richert Field, including the bleachers, to watch their grad receive a symbolic diploma. Though students’ actual diplomas will arrive in the mail in a few weeks, the soon-to-be graduates were still thrilled to collect an empty case signifying the most important achievement of their young lives.
During the ceremony, many family and friends held up signs to the grads, some with pictures on them. They blew whistles and let the fog horns rip. They clicked their cameras and hit the record buttons on their video cameras. They laughed and they cried, all in recognition of their children, family or friends who embarked on a right of passage 13 years in the making.
The excitement could be felt in the air even before the ceremony began.
Soon-to-be graduates hugged each other as they entered the tennis courts where they lined up in preparation to march to the east side of the bleachers for the ceremony.
Up in the air, a plane circled, pulling a sign that read, “Congrats Corey Robinson and LOHS 2005.”
And, of course, there were the beaming parents bubbling over with pride for their children.
“It just became blessing after blessing for her,” said Cesilil Longoria about his daughter Christina Longoria. “She continues to thank God who made all of this possible.”
Then it was time. The “Pomp and Circumstance” began to play and the parents ran to the field maneuvering for the best spot to get a glimpse of their graduate and hopefully a picture to remember the event as the students walked by.
The brown, wooden bleachers soon turned into a sea of green with splashes of color from the leis worn by the seniors.
The green sea became choppy at times as students performed the wave to delight their family and friends watching from the audience.
But for all the theatrics, graduation was a time for reflection and hope for the future.
Students formally said goodbye to each other, to their teachers and to their school.
“This chapter of our lives has come to a close,” said Alyce Roman as she addressed the crowd, “but a whole novel is still ahead of us.”
For parents, it was a realization that the children they raised for so many years were about to leave home.
“I’m going to miss my best friend,” said Rena Renteria of her daughter Katie Renteria. “Her family loves her so much. We’re very proud of her.”
Renteria’s aunt, Deanna Dunca, commented about how quickly the time from her niece’s birth to graduation went by .
“It seems like just yesterday she was this big,” Dunca said, motioning with her hands the size of a baby.
This year’s graduation them was “Simply the Best.” Live Oak’s first-year principal, Nick Boden, used the theme as he spoke about a former student who never thought he would receive a diploma from Live Oak.
Ted Kubota attended Live Oak 62 years ago before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered him, and the rest of the Japanese Americans in the West Coast, to leave their homes and live in internment camps.
“Mr. Kubota, you stand as an example for the centennial graduates how to go through life with integrity and grace,” Boden said.
Valedictorian Aaron Cunanan in his speech to the graduates also charged the students to work hard in whatever they do to find true success.
“People can have natural ability, but they need time to develop their talents into something special,” Cunanan said. “You can only take out what you put in, and the rewards should be greater than the initial investment.”
While most graduates are excited because they are finally done with high school, their parents and teachers realize life has only just begun for them.
“It is great that they got this far,” said Mike Bergkamp, whose son Paul graduated Friday. “But I try to tell him that the hard part has just started.”
At 7:40pm, the last name was read and the students returned to their seats. One last round of the wave rolled through the sea of graduates and Boden announced there was one more piece of business to take care of: the moving of the tassels.
So as the sun set behind the western hills of Morgan Hill, the graduates threw their hats in the air and made their way to their parents and friends to get final pictures and hugs from high school.
