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The Acorn Camarillo Acorn Moorpark Acorn Simi Valley Acorn Thousand Oaks Acorn |
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First four-year students graduate at OCHS OAKS CHRISTIAN
Headmaster
First four-year students graduate at OCHS  MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn TEACHERS' APPLAUSE-Faculty members line up to greet seniors as they enter the chapel during commencement ceremonies at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village on Friday.
By Stephanie Bertholdo In an emotional right of passage, 120 seniors graduated from Oaks Christian High School (OCHS) last Friday. The Class of 2004 represented the school’s first four-year graduating class. The commencement was conducted at the school’s Celebration Center, a massive high-tech auditorium with big screens hung from the ceiling, ensuring good views from everywhere. Steven Rowe presented the first "senior testimony." He expressed appreciation for the OCHS teachers, staff and families. The students are prepared for any obstacles, he said, and they embrace the future. Ann Marie Boskovich, accompanied by the OCHS Chorale, belted out a moving rendition of "I Hope You Dance," followed by a senior testimony by Michaela Ballmann. She noted that the Bible’s doctrine of loving your neighbor and yourself was sometimes a challenge. Not everyone is lovable, she said, and loving yourself is also a challenge. "We need to see our faults at face value and move on," she said. Katie Hampton and George Krikes performed "I Will Remember You," followed by senior testimonies by Christopher Chespak and George Krikes. Justin Greene and John Quinn presented the senior gift—a bronze lion—to the school. Tom Konjoyan, OCHS vice president of development, presented senior awards that included $1,000 scholarships. Chespak was presented with the David G. Price Leadership Award, while David Reisman won the Weinberg Spiritual Leadership Award. The Dallas Athletic Distinction Award went to Brett Amy Shiflett, a swimming champion who will be attending Princeton University. The Dallas Price-Van Breda Artistic Expression award was presented to Cory Jan Schoolland. The Atsinger Teaching Excellence Award was presented to English teacher Ryan Summers, who received a standing ovation. Zachary Landrum, the class valedictorian, received the prestigious Headmaster’s Award. Nithya Mani was named the salutatorian. Mani’s academic advisor, Tim Fenderson, said that Mani is incredibly talented, yet humble. Mani is a voracious reader who managed to read 45 books during the year while keeping up her high grade point average, Fenderson said. In his valedictory speech, Landrum reflected on the lessons he’d learned during his four years at OCHS. He remembered a freshman English lesson that affected his life, relating how the meaning of the five-word sentence ("I didn’t kill the gerbil") could be altered depending on which word is emphasized. The senior retreat was meaningful, Landrum said, because of the new people he met and with whom he formed deeper friendships. Former U.S. Congressman Jack Kemp, who currently serves as co-director of Empower America, a public policy and advocacy organization that was formed in 1993, presented the keynote address (see related story below). As the seniors received their diplomas, photographs depicting their younger days were projected on screens, while their accomplishments and college plans were announced. Most of the graduates will be attending college next fall. |
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