Calabasas students look to the future

CHUCK ROGERS/The Acorn CAPS AND GRINS - Seniors from Calabasas HIgh School Class of 2000 feel pleased about their academic accomplishments. "I learned that there is always something to learn," said one student.

Spirits were high and the mood was cheerful, yet reflective, as more than 400 high school seniors graduated from Calabasas High School last Friday.

As strains of "Pomp and Circumstance" filled the evening air, the excited brown-robed students found their seats on the football field. During the 15-minute processional, the graduates entered their rows, then turned around to smile and wave at their friends and family in the audience.

"There are no words to describe the exuberance and excitement I see as I look at your faces tonight," said Judy Jordan, a member of the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education, when she accepted the class later that evening.

Ceremonies began with some thoughtful speeches by four of the graduating seniors, who demonstrated some of the wisdom they had gained at CHS.

Although anxious to receive their long-awaited diplomas, the other students patiently listened to the speeches while reflecting on their own high school careers and musing about the future.

"In our short 18 years, we’ve each met people who’ve shared life lessons," said valedictorian Aya Osuga. "Opportunity is always knocking at our door, if we want to listen."

As she continued, she discussed the importance of friends, forgiveness and remembrance.

"People come and go. Feelings may change … memories never will," she said.

As she remembered the past, she speculated on the future.

"We, alone, are responsible for what we become," she said. "Mistakes aren’t failures—just God’s way of teaching and keeping you on the right path."

When the first salutatorian, Grace Sun, took the stage, she was also reflective and appreciative for the environment in which she’d grown up.

"For 13 years we had a good learning environment and public education," she said, thanking the teachers who had "worked extra to help us."

She also told the graduates to be grateful to their parents "who allowed us to enjoy the comfort of such a peaceful community."

Looking to their future as adults, Sun said, "It is our duty to do all we can to help society experience stability and prosperity."

The second s salutatorian, Aaron Levine, took a different approach in his opening, comparing the graduates’ future to a Cal vs. Stanford football game. The score was close right up to the final play, but with perseverance, Cal won it in the end.

"Never give up and never give in," he said, referring to his football illustration.

"Who will take the ball and run with it now?" he rhetorically asked his classmates. "Who amongst you will try to forge ahead and try to make a difference?"

The fourth student speaker, senior class member Braden Aftergood, took a philosophical look at what he learned in high school.

"My career at CHS has not been defined by what I learned in classes. I learned that there is always something to learn, and you don’t need a credential," he said, echoing sentiments similar to Osuga’s about learning lessons everywhere.

However, his classroom studies enabled him "to see the fundamentals that plague all humanity, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Elliot’s Prufrock."

"I am now prepared to leave this wonderfully isolated cocoon," he said.

After the speeches, the Senior Choir sang a touching rendition of the classic Beatles’ song "In My Life."

The song was followed by principal Susan Allen, presenting the Class of 2000, which she described as a caring, thoughtful group.

"I’ve seen them demonstrate their love for each other … a willingness to help each other in good and bad times," she said.

She told the graduates that "It’s now up to you to use what you’ve learned her from the teachers and each other."

Allen then shared some of her favorite quotes, including one from Plato, who said "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

School boardmember Judy Jordan accepted the graduating class, as she joined fellow boardmember Terilyn Finders in the distribution of diplomas.

Student class sponsors Christina Heredia and Jeff Partain read the names as the students came forward to claim their long-earned parchments.

Some received rousing cheers from the audience, but all knew they had completed a special time in their lives.