“It’s been so exciting to see her grow up and mature into a beautiful young lady,” said Lystra Paul, whose cousin Victoria is heading off to UCLA in the fall. “But it’s also sad to see her move on.”
Students helped one another fasten their caps, gowns and white-flowered leis, anxiously waiting to begin their procession.
“I am so excited that it’s over . . . there were times in high school that were hard, like making new friends freshman year,” said Natalia Basanta, 18, who will attend UC Riverside in September and hopes to own a restaurant in the future. “But this is also a sad day for me because it is the last time all my classmates will be together again.”
Fellow graduates Christina Cáceres, 17, and Monica Corea, 18, were nervous to enter a world outside of the walls of their high school.
“High school was really fun,” said Cáceres, who hopes to someday become a nurse. “The school has been like a family to me, and I am really going to miss everyone.”
“I am scared about what the future holds; college really seems hard,” said Corea, who starts classes at Cal State Dominguez Hills in September and is interested in studying athletic training. “But at least it’s over. I had bad senioritis.”
For faculty, the ceremony was a time to both celebrate and mourn their students’ departure from the academy.
“I am sad to see them go,” said choir teacher Brenda Mohr. “This class was very social, and all of them are very easy to talk to. They didn’t set aside teachers. They always took the time to engage us in conversation.”
Class president Jenica Alsaybar was afraid to address her fellow classmates and audience members.
“I’ve practiced it a lot, so hopefully it will go OK,” said Alsaybar, who is enrolled at UCLA to study business or medicine. When the time came for her speech, she thanked her classmates for always working together to achieve their goals.
“Despite our diversity, we were still able to bond and look past our differences,” Alsaybar said. “We came together when it mattered the most . . . we’ve gone through the good and the bad and learned something from all of them.”
ALISON TULLY covers City Hall and public safety in Burbank. She may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at alison.tully@latimes.com.
