Each year, The Times profiles a few outstanding soon-to-be Morgan Hill Unified School District graduates. Selected from recommendations of staff at Live Oak and Ann Sobrato High Schools, these seniors represent some of the best that Morgan Hill has to offer.
Their comments here are in response to a common set of questions.
These students have navigated the labyrinth of high school, and inspire others by their optimistic outlook, refreshing attitudes and heartfelt honesty.
In addition to celebrating them, their families and their mentors, it is time to celebrate all of the graduating seniors in the class of 2019 for their accomplishments and wish them the best of luck and a fulfilling future.
ANN SOBRATO HIGH SCHOOL
Zaria Kelley
COLLEGE: University of Southern California
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: Santa Clara University, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Stanford
MAJOR: Psychology
GOAL: Veterinary medicine
MEMORIES: Getting to see the cotton candy summer sunrises and sunsets. Storming Live Oak’s football field with other Sobrato students my sophomore year after we lost the (last) El Toro bowl.
Jacob Lemoff
COLLEGE: UCLA
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly SLO, San Jose State, San Diego State, Santa Clara University
MAJOR: Business economics
GOAL: CEO of a Fortune 500 company
MEMORIES: I actually spent most of my childhood in Morgantown, West Virginia, but since my move to Morgan Hill, I have enjoyed the diverse culture here as well as access to unique experiences in a place with a small town feel.
The day I got accepted to UCLA and all the hard work paid off.
Holly Rottenborn
COLLEGE: UC Santa Barbara
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: UC San Diego, Sonoma State, San Diego State
MAJOR: Biology
GOAL: Orthopedic surgeon
MEMORIES: It’s small enough that you become familiar with everything and everyone, but it’s big enough that we could escape to places untouched by humans that are beautifully natural.
I’ll never forget leading the final cheer for my varsity soccer team after we won second place in CCS!
Haley Toch
COLLEGE: University of Washington, Seattle
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: UC Berkeley, Cal Poly, San Diego State; waitlisted at UCSB, UCSD and UCI.
MAJOR: Major in psychology, minor in nutrition
GOAL: Childhood and adolescent clinical psychologist
Although it was difficult growing up in such a small town, it made me appreciate my friends so much more, and the little moments, like watching the sunsets together and eating lots of ice cream.
I was ASB vice president my senior year, and at Sobrato, we take homecoming very seriously. My ASB class spent months making decorations and planning skits for our night rallies. I will never be able to forget the look on our class’s face when they walked into the gym that night; they were amazed with what we were able to accomplish, and it made all the work and stress worth it.
LIVE OAK HIGH SCHOOL
Connor Dietz
COLLEGE: University of California Berkeley
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Pepperdine, Santa Clara University, USC, University of Wyoming, SDSU, CSULB, Seton Hall University, University of Portland, George Fox University
MAJOR: Biology
GOAL: Orthodontist
MEMORIES: Getting to know all my amazing friends who are like family to me because of the community being so close and relatively small.
Getting First Team All-League BVAL for football and soccer.
Lindsey Hillesland
COLLEGE: The University of British Columbia
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: Portland State University, University of Portland, James Madison University, UC Merced
MAJOR: International relations
GOAL: My goal is to work for the government.
MEMORIES: I really like how you could drive one hour north, south, east or west of Morgan Hill and end up in vastly different areas.
All the most memorable moments I have are with my friends, and I really loved being able to see them every day at school.
Brian Ho
COLLEGE: University of California, Los Angeles
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and San Jose State University
MAJOR: Physiological science
GOAL: General physician
MEMORIES: The peaceful and active community with members who are always supportive of one another. Everyone here is friendly and contributes something unique to the community.
My most memorable moment of high school was when my friends and I decided to take a break from a long project by riding a small golf cart around my friend’s lake at 35 miles per hour.
Khyron Rodriguez
COLLEGE: UC Irvine
OTHER ACCEPTANCES: University of the Pacific, University of Portland, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, CSU Long Beach, Rochester Institute of Technology
MAJOR: Biomedical engineering
GOAL: I would like to become an anesthesiologist.
MEMORIES: The hardworking community. Everybody wants to be the “small town that could,” and this motivates everyone to do the best they can in order to prove that even with a small population Morgan Hill is still a great town.
The most memorable moment of high school for me was when the senior class had an assembly where everyone announced the colleges they were going to. It was surreal, and I got to witness a truly beautiful moment. You could see the proud and excited faces everyone had as they thought of their bright and very near futures. It was an exciting time and I couldn’t help but feel happy. I was happy not only for my future but for every single one of my peers’ futures as well.
