Corralled in among the magazine and book racks of the Gilroy High School library, a roiling sea of blue and white surged as the cap and gown-clad Class of 2013 prepared to stream out into the big, wide world.
For the 266 young men and women about to embark on the next chapter of their lives, being raucous in the library without getting shushed was only the beginning.
“I’m looking forward to waking up at noon everyday,” was Jonathan Fox’s summation of what adulthood holds for the next few months until he begins a film production course at CSU Northridge in Los Angeles.
Laden with a Hawaiian-style leis – enhanced with miniature parasols made of dollar bills – Fox and three of his high school chums – Marcelino D. Huerta, Cesar Sanchez and Enrique Villanueva – were ensconced in a corner, thinking about their respective futures.
“It’s going to be weird not seeing these guys everyday,” Villanueva said.
Across the room, where all the young women were grouped, it was a vision of white robes and beautiful hair.
Among them was Teresa Ann Bjornson, who in the fall will head to San Jose State to major in nursing. But first, there is a summer of surfing the world-famous West Coast waves near Santa Cruz and Capitola to enjoy.
“I want to live life and never get old,” laughed Bjornson, encapsulating in nine words the magic of being 18 and graduating high school.
In GHS’s recently renovated quad – dubbed Centennial Circle – family and friends congregated under a sky streaked with contrails and wisps of clouds. A verdant hillside to the west of the city formed the ultimate backdrop for a vibrant afternoon.
In a switch from the traditional commencement location of the football field and bleachers, more than 3,000 chairs were meticulously placed to create an outdoor auditorium shaded by trees.
GHS’s bleachers were condemned as “not structurally sound” just days before 2013’s graduation, but everything worked out, staff members said. Everyone in attendance said they loved having the event in Centennial Circle, which was part of a $5 million campus upgrade completed last summer. Another $8 million in additional renovation projects are scheduled to be completed in the coming months.
Along with countless handmade congratulatory neon signs – “You did it bro! We love you” was a popular message – balloons of all colors and shapes floated lazily back and forth in a breeze that made the late afternoon mid-80s temperatures bearable.
As the GHS band struck up Elgar’s traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” for the processional, the soon-to-be graduates made their way from the library to their seats in the heart of campus.
“We’re so proud of you Steven,” shouted Jamie Cohen, Lindsay Hack and Cynthia Gonzalez in unison as the target of their praise, Estevan Coria, came into view.
Estevan, or Steven as he prefers, played it cool in front of the trio, who were his teachers at Mt. Madonna Continuation High School, located on Hirasaki Court in Gilroy.
“This has only happened about 15 times in the last five years,” explained Hack, referring to the fact that Coria graduated with his GHS peer group as opposed to graduating with his Mt. Madonna cohort. As a Mt. Madonna student, Coria could only walk at GHS if he caught up on all his missing credits while completing the same classes as his peer group at GHS by the end of the school year.
“He worked so hard,” Hack beamed. “This is very rare.”
A flurry of speeches followed as faculty, family and friends basked in the sunlight dappling through the leaves.
The responsibility of the “Welcome” address fell to Senior Class President Kiara Santamaria.
“Everything we’ve worked for and accomplished has lead us to today,” she told her peers.
In a nod to the age-old gripe of teenagers all over the world who talk about “getting out of this small town,” Santamaria offered words of caution about abandoning the old for the new too quickly.
“In this ‘small town’ we’ve grown up together and without noticing it, have influenced and affected each other’s lives in all kinds of ways,” she said. “We can look at each other and a lifetime of memories flash before our eyes.”
GHS’s Pride Speech – a rabble-rousing affair centered on school spirit and lifetime friendships – was delivered by Thao (Nicole) Nguyen and Sara Cedano, followed by Salutatorian Samantha Holder and Valedictorian Jonahluis Galvez. Holder drew the biggest laugh of the evening with her Harry Potter-themed speech.
“I’m a bit of a Potter-head,” Holder grinned. “Not a pothead, a Potter-head.”
Comparing Hogwarts – the school at the center of J.K. Rowling’s seven fantasy novels that spawned a global phenomenon – to GHS, Holder reeled off a list of reasons for GHS’s superiority to the mythical academy for wizards.
She did make a tongue-in-cheek reference, however, to the change of graduation venue for the Class of 2013.
“Hogwarts might have slightly sturdier bleachers than we do,” she laughed.
Before directing the GHS Chamber Singers for one last time, outgoing music maestro Phil Robb just about managed to keep a lid on his emotions during his speech.
After regaling the audience with anecdotes from his 30-year teaching career, Robb dished out advice about savoring the moment and sent the graduates on their way with a partial reading of “May the Road Rise up to Meet You,” a traditional Irish blessing.
The speech of the evening, however, was delivered by social studies teacher Rudy Gonzales. In a firebrand, heart swelling, keynote statement of his belief in the ability of his students to help put things right in the world, Gonzales – chosen by the Class of 2013 to deliver the address – touched on a wide breadth of topics that ranged from recent news headlines of government spying to intolerance.
“You have inspired me of an idea that seems so long lost in our American consciousness,” he said, his gaze drifting across the hundreds of faces in the audience, “This idea that you reflect 2013, is that of enlightenment.”
Gonzales punctuated his 15-minute celebration of the Class of 2013’s future, declaring, “among you are the genius that prove that the human intellect is alive and well and thriving in American public schools.”
He finished by thanking the group of soon-to-be alumni for giving him something to believe in and bidding them farewell.
“It’s a great day to be a Mustang,” he added.
As the breeze stiffened and hard-earned diploma covers (the actual diplomas were collected in the Student Center after the ceremony) made it into young hands, family members, friends and teachers reacted to the end of the GHS journey for this years’ graduates.
“I’m sad beyond belief,” said Dee Dee McDonald as she watched her son, Billy – 2013’s Mr. Mustang for school spirit and Outstanding Male Vocalist of the Year – prepare to move on to the next stage in his life as a freshman at the University of Oregon. “I’m going to have to let him go.”
As Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Debbie Flores made graduation official, the assembled graduates tossed their caps into the air.
In the throng of families clamoring around the student center, Julie Lussier beamed with pride as daughter Alexia posed for photos with family members from as far away as eastern Canada.
Alexia’s grandparents – George and Loraine Patterson from Montreal – were looking forward to hanging out and celebrating over the weekend.
“We’re going to the wineries,” George grinned.
Gazing at the future UC Santa Barbara political science freshman, Julie gave a contented laugh.
“She’s ready and we’re ready to let her go,” she said of her daughter.
