“Ramon, you did it!” declared one sign amidst a sea of colorful Mylar balloons, bouquets and shade-giving umbrellas during Live Oak High School’s June 6 graduation ceremony, where cap and gown-clad seniors strode onto Richert Field as the traditional graduation song, “Pomp and Circumstance” played in the background.
Later that afternoon, graduates were all waves and smiles while families and friends crowded around to snap their pictures. Younger siblings waved handmade signs with messages of acknowledgment.
Live Oak is part of the Morgan Hill Unified School District, California’s second largest in terms of geographic boundaries. Students come from neighborhoods in Morgan Hill and San Jose, as well as the unincorporated areas of San Martin and the Coyote Valley.
Among this year’s 245 graduating students, 92 percent are enrolled in public, private and community colleges for the 2013-14 school year. Another 8 percent will join the workforce, serve in the military, embark on faith-based missions or pursue other options. So far, 110 of this year’s graduating students received a collective total of more than $1.1 million in scholarships and awards.
For some families it was a proud moment to have a first-generation college student in their midst. One grandmother laughed as she told her family how she had to cajole her sleepy grandson to get out of bed that morning because he had to be at school on time and attend rehearsal in order to graduate. Another couple scanned the graduation program wondering out loud if their son, who is headed for West Valley College in the fall, would have a friend to carpool with.
As the ceremony opened, Principal Lloyd Webb congratulated this year’s “extraordinary class” of seniors on their success and expressed his belief they would “leave the world a better place” than it is today. Webb encouraged seniors to approach future endeavors with purpose, planning and commitment.
“I will miss you,” he told them. “I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing back from you.”
Graduates pursuing higher education will attend more than 30 different colleges and universities across the nation. Approximately 45 students chose California State University schools, while 15 students chose University of California schools. Graduate Enrique Zambrano will be serving his country in the U.S. Marine Corps, while graduate Josh Lloyd has joined the U.S. Coast Guard.
In the world of sports, senior Devon Jones will play rugby in Australia. As for students embarking on careers in creative fields, several will attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise in Los Angeles, and one will attend the International Culinary Institute of America. Several others are undertaking faith-based missions through the Mormon Church.
Steve Betando, MHUSD’s Assistant Superintendent who will soon be taking over for departing Superintendent Wes Smith, thanked students for their hard work and quoted the inspired words of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Co-valedictorian Amber Thomas asked the Class of 2013 to consider post-high school years as a time to reinvent oneself, and to “claim the world as your own, leave behind trepidation and achieve beyond anyone’s expectations.”
This fall, Thomas is headed for Stanford University where she will join the School of Engineering and study in the fast-changing field of Bioengineering.
“I’ve wanted to go to Stanford ever since I attended a summer camp there in seventh grade,” said Thomas.
She drew some of her academic inspiration from her biology teacher, Gilroyan Jim Hemeon, who presented the curriculum in a fun and interesting way, and drove home the value of good note-taking in order to succeed in college. Thomas also applauded the GEMS Club (Girls Excelling in Math and Science), which provided her with positive female role models who have professional careers in mathematics and the sciences. In an independent project known as Bio Backroads, Thomas created a documentary based on her research of Monterey’s Elkhorn Slough area.
“It was great to get outside of the classroom for a real-world experience,” she said.
Sharing the role of valedictorian with Thomas was Juliet Olsen, who is bound for UCLA in the fall. Olsen was selected as part of the college’s Honors Program and will pursue a degree in Geological Engineering. Among her favorite teachers, Olsen found that Mr. Gautschi stood out because he “helped us focus on life lessons, and related teaching back to life applications.”
Olsen remarked that she’s had a variety of opportunities to connect with classmates through theater arts and sports as well as academics over the four years, describing her class as “very balanced.”
“We’ve been good at tackling challenges together and moving beyond the cutthroat atmosphere that you find in other high schools,” said Olsen. “And we’ve always been able to laugh at ourselves, like the year we created our Homecoming float based on the Disney movie, ‘UP’.”
Live Oak senior Mark Holmstrom plans to earn a mathematics degree at Stanford University. As Class of 2013 salutatorian, Holmstrom captured the essence of what it means to be part of Live Oak High School. He joked about how having an acorn as the school mascot at first seemed silly and inadequate when compared to the wild and warrior-like mascots of other schools, but he then grew to appreciate what the acorn symbolized. For Holmstrom, the acorn is “the seed of the great oak tree that represents our potential. The roots are parents, teachers and staff … critical to our next steps. Years from now we’ll be doing very different things, but we all have the same Morgan Hill origins. We’re just beginning to branch out.”
He closed by encouraging fellow students to “remember your roots and grow from acorns into oak trees.”
