Oak Park High School seniors graduate with honors

by Stephanie Bertholdobertholdo@theacorn.com

The Oak Park High School Class of 2005 commencement ceremony was staged in the football stadium against a backdrop of rolling hills. The boys wore black caps and gowns and the girls were dressed in gold robes. As the students processed two by two to their seats, “Pomp and Circumstance” played in the background. Many of the 255 seniors have been friends since preschool.

Ninety-five seniors earned distinctions with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 and above by the seventh semester. Of those students, 30 achieved High Honors (4.0 or higher GPA), and 34 were Honor students with a 3.75 GPA or higher.

S c o t t Greenwald, a s s o c i a t e d student body president, welcomed students and their families. Whitney Steininger, senior class president, introduced senior speaker Garrett Saito.

Saito asked his classmates to “never forget the time we spent with the people sitting next to us.” He urged them to “make a difference” in the lives of others, and used Spanish t e a c h e r M i c h a e l Bolyog as an example of a man of action. “If Mr. B o l y o g didn’t believe he could make a difference, he wouldn’t have run for president of the United States,” he said.

“I love you all,” said Saito. “Go and change the world.”

Oak Park Principal Lynn McCormack talked about the ritual of graduation and the symbolic rite of passage that it carried. She told students that while they are closing one chapter in their lives, they will soon begin another. She added that parents often feel their children’s failure and pain more than their own, just as they relish in their children’s success.

Mary Rees, Oak Park Unified School District board president, introduced co-valedictorians, Alexandra Martin and Julia Liu. Julia Fong was presented as the class salutatorian.

School Counselor Randy McClelland recognized the school’s large number of honor students by asking them to stand.

Eric Pryor, senior class advisor, announced the Outstanding Female and Outstanding Male graduates. Jenna Bushore and Max Rosenberg accepted the honor, which recognized their academic success, leadership abilities, and commitment to the school and community through sports and service organizations.

Each student was presented with their diploma while photographs of them as both babies and seniors were flashed on a big screen.

Millie Andress, principal of Oak Park Independent Study, presented diplomas to the 14 students who graduated from the school’s independent study program.

Anthony Knight, OPUSD superintendent, congratulated the students at the end of the ceremony and invited parents to the field to honor their children before they whisked off to a “safe and sober grad night.”