Darleene Barrientos
Katherine Barber finished gluing felt letters, spelling out SDSU,
onto her cap just in time to join her friend Anne Penniall before La
Canada High School's graduation ceremony.
The 17-year-old girls are headed for San Diego -- Katherine to San
Diego State and Anne to the University of San Diego, whose initials
were artfully glue-gunned onto her cap as well.
"I'm so excited," Katherine said. "I'm past sad. But I am a little
nervous."
Anne felt the same way.
"I've been a little scared," she said. "Today's been a little
surreal."
La Canada High School said farewell Thursday to Anne, Katherine
and their 349 classmates.
Several of those graduates, who wore the school's colors of
burgundy and yellow, left the school as honor students -- 73
graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average or above. Sixty-four
students were gold seal bearers of the California Scholarship
Foundation.
Josie Arkfeld came to see Allison Arkfeld, her first granddaughter
to graduate from high school.
"I'm excited," she said. "I think she's going to have a great
life."
Allison will study psychology at St. Mary's College of California
in Moraga, her father, Dan, said.
"This is a big event. It hasn't even set in yet," he said. "I'll
miss her, but she's ready to go, I think."
Thomas Gies, one of the ceremony's student speakers, shared the
nervousness and excitement of going to college. He described his fear
of coming to the school as a senior and how another student's shared
love of ultimate Frisbee changed his apprehension to eagerness.
"The fear of change and responsibility has plagued us every year
of our lives," he said. "Every year, it seems we are faced with more
fear and more changes. But it also seems we have a little more fun."
"And remember," he said, "always say 'hi' to the new guy."
