Gilroy
– The sound of rain beating down on 4,000 white and black
folding chairs could be heard Friday morning – less than 10 hours
before the start of the Gilroy High School’s 2005 graduation
ceremony on the junior practice fields. More than 480 seniors were
expecting to graduate, and there was no plan
B.
Luckily, there was no need.
The GHS graduates were an island of blue robes in the middle of
a sea of relatives and friends, with nothing but blue skies
overhead.
Gilroy – The sound of rain beating down on 4,000 white and black folding chairs could be heard Friday morning – less than 10 hours before the start of the Gilroy High School’s 2005 graduation ceremony on the junior practice fields. More than 480 seniors were expecting to graduate, and there was no plan B.
Luckily, there was no need.
The GHS graduates were an island of blue robes in the middle of a sea of relatives and friends, with nothing but blue skies overhead.
“It just poured this morning. I couldn’t see two feet in front of me,” said Assistant Principal Greg Camacho–Light. “I was watching the Doppler and there was this one dot the size of Hollister moving towards Gilroy. There was nothing else in Northern California.”
But when the seniors arrived, the only evidence of the rain were high heels sinking into the damp grass.
Many had photos of friends and family members who helped them get through high school on their caps. Some waited in clusters excitedly chatting, while others sat alone at picnic benches, reflecting on the day – staring at the school grounds.
“It doesn’t feel real right now,” said Christal Gallion. “I know I’m going to want to come back here even though I don’t go here anymore.”
Seniors captured minutes before graduation in frames – interviewing friends on camcorders and posing for pictures that will last a lifetime.
Family members and friends gathered on the lawn, awaiting the arrival of the graduates. For some, this is a day of firsts. Some were celebrating the first high school graduation of anyone in their family. But for others – it was the last member to complete their education at GHS.
“I’m already feeling pangs,” said Bill Baxley whose daughter, Nicole, is his first child to graduate. “She’s going away. … I’m going to miss her.”
Baxley smiled while talking about how together they protested the war in San Francisco two years ago. He smiled when he recalled her participating in the high school’s Day of Silence demonstration in April.
“We’ve raised her to be a free spirit and individual,” he said. “She’s gone one step further. We lucked out. We’re very, very proud today.”
Once the graduates entered the grounds walking in pairs, cheers rang out and foghorns blasted.
Aisha Zaza gave the welcoming address. Beach balls bounced over the heads of the graduates as she spoke.
“Now we scream ’05 for the last time,” Zaza said. “We will always be the Class of 2005. Let that be the one common thread that lasts us a lifetime.”
The class salutatorian, Carissa Filice, spoke of the all that the teachers and faculty had done for her and others over the course of their four years at GHS.
She encouraged her classmates to remember their experiences and not view high school as that place they endured and a period of time they got through.
“Please remember what you did here – the good times you had, the friends you made, the people who helped you, and every moment that has allowed you to be who you are today.”
Echoing similar sentiments was Jared Gamm.
“Our teachers are just as much a part of our graduation,” he said. “Without our teachers to help us prepare for what comes ahead, we would not be sitting here today.”
Valedictorian Debra Cheng garnered applause from the crowd after mentioning that GHS’ test scores do not measure their success as individuals. She insisted that their success was as a class – being welcoming and accepting of others.
“Realize that those test scores are just some numbers on a piece of paper,” Cheng said. “How can we allow that to be the only judge to measure the success of GHS or any other school? What’s really special about Gilroy High is each one of us – and that can’t be given a statistic.”
Following tradition, the senior class voted a faculty member to deliver the keynote address. They selected Linda Hartman, an English teacher retiring after 35 years.
Hartman admitted that she has secretly been writing graduation speeches for years, hoping to deliver the keynote address. With years of practice, Hartman shined.
Delivering an emotional speech, she offered advice from the book All I Really Need to Know In Life I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum.
“Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people,” she said. “Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. … Live a balanced life.”
She recalled how just days into their freshman year, the tragedy of Sept. 11 struck.
“I saw you rise to the occasion,” she said. “Life is 10 percent what happens to you, 90 percent how you react.”
As diplomas were distributed, some danced across stage, relishing the spotlight. Others tackled principals and teachers with hugs.
“There’s always some bad memories,” said graduate Patrick Lemmon. “But you’ve got to take the bad with the good. … It’s going to be great getting out of here, but you realize how much fun you had. Next week it’s going to hit you.”
