Agoura grads remember days fondly




JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers PROUD MOMENT- Agoura High School graduate Emily Schade raises her diploma to the crowd. Commencement was June 19.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers PROUD MOMENT- Agoura High School graduate Emily Schade raises her diploma to the crowd. Commencement was June 19.


The bonds of friendship and the importance of dreams were a prominent theme at the June 19 graduation ceremony at Agoura High School.

Senior Maarvi Khawaja spoke to the class of 2008 on the topic of shared experiences at the school and the dreams that will lead each student to their destiny.

The 508 graduates united over the years in various ‘Yo Mama’ battles, dance-offs, football games and other activities that bonded “jocks, nerds, rebels and the evertormented artists.”

“The class of 2008 has raised the bar of what its students can achieve,” Khawaja said. “Reality is wrong, dreams are real.” Khawaja ended his speech with the promise to see everyone again at their 10-year reunion.

Heather Hamilton and Julia Jasiunas, accompanied by Amy Moffat, sang “Never Alone.”

Student Austin Kearns spoke to the crowd of family, friends and fellow students about “what is really important.” Excellence shouldn’t be measured in a letter grade, since every student has “excellent” qualities, he said. Dreams are “what makes things interesting when times are not,” Kearns said.

“Agoura High School was the time of our lives,” Kearns said. “Ask about dreams instead of plans for the future,” he suggested to the audience.

Principal Larry Misel said the class of 2008 established a “new class and culture” at Agoura High School, with new programs and educational philosophies.

Misel listed several changes made at the school over the past four years, including International Baccalaureate; “Link Crew, a transition program for eighthgrade students transitioning into high school; and “DQuadrant” learning, a program in which students tackle real life problems and solutions.

“This is when the road separates,” Misel said of graduation. “One constant (students) all have in common is that the road started here at Agoura High School.”

Misel congratulated the class on their achievements in academics, athletics and charitable endeavors and called the students “champions and heroes.”

“It’s your turn to make history,” Misel said. “Remember, only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly.”

Cindy Iser, president of the Las Virgenes Unified School District board of education, encouraged the students to “seek goodness everywhere . . . and discover “all things that shine” in the “time of their lives.”

Thirteen students earned the honor of valedictorian: Monique Ambrose, Erin Baird, Gary Chan, Veenadhari Chavakula, Julie Felberg, Kevin Kho, Kelsey Krigstein, Christopher Lewis, Justin Manduke, Kelly McBride, Sergei Turin, Alexander Weingart and Katrina Wisdom.

Six students were named salutatorians: Kristin Brabant, Amy Moffat, Mayur Pokal, Ethan Stark, Elana Teitelbaum and Joshua Waller.

The ceremony ended with the graduates surrounding the football field in a traditional “friendship circle” while the band played the school’s alma mater.

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