Live Oak High School’s graduating class of 2021 celebrated with two commencement ceremonies the afternoon of June 4.
A total of 298 seniors graduated from Live Oak this year, according to Principal Tanya Calabretta. Graduates in the coming months will attend universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, trade schools, armed services and the workforce all over the country.
“Our students are attending schools such as UC Berkeley, Georgetown, UCLA and everywhere in between,” Calabretta wrote in an email to the Times. “The class of 2021, they have been vibrant and socially responsible students who have learned to productively push for what is right and express what they, as young adults, need. We are extremely honored to have spent the last four years with them and know that they go into the community and world with the intent and capacity to change it for the better.”
The 2021 graduating class was divided into two ceremonies on June 4, in order to accommodate space for families and spectators.
The ceremonies featured speeches from the class’ salutatorians—Ritvik Sriram, Janelle Laflin and Ashlynn Tumbaga—as well as from ASB President Taylor LaRocca and Senior Class President Alyssa Arana. The Live Oak Class of 2021 valedictorian is Austin Fisher. Graduate Jenna Hernandez sang the national anthem at both June 4 ceremonies.
Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent Steve Betando praised Live Oak’s graduating class of 2021 for succeeding despite the unprecedented uncertainties brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. He noted the many “bittersweet” challenges brought on by distance learning and an atypical senior year.
“You have experienced the lost connection and it is time to reconnect,” Betando said at the 2:30pm ceremony at Live Oak’s Richert Field. “As you go through life, frequently remind yourself what it felt like to lose it, and then think about how lucky we are to have found it again. We are proud of you all today, and so excited about your journey into the future.”
