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Photograph by Dai Sugano
Congratulations Graduates
Sunnyvale students celebrate the big day
By Kelly Wilkinson
The anticipation was palpable at both Homestead and Fremont high schools last Thursday night as anxious graduates adjusted each others' ties, hair and gowns in their last few minutes as high school students.
Outside Homestead's cafeteria, Melissa Lee stood wearing a bobby pin-secured cap, surrounded by a small group of anxious friends.
"I'm really excited for this, and really nervous," Lee said, who will attend DeAnza in the fall. "I just don't want to trip and right now, we just want our hats to fit."
Across the room, Kurtis Kludt stood in front of a full-length mirror with several other male students, straightening his tie before taking his place in line.
"I'm ecstatic about graduation," he said. "I think it's a tremendous experience you can't repeat, and Homestead has prepared me very well for college."
Kludt is headed for UCLA next fall, and said he'll miss the camaraderie and friends from Homestead, since he's leaving the area which will make keeping in touch more difficult.
Crystal Scofield smiles with friends moments before graduation.
Photograph by Dai Sugano
Homestead reported that out of a class of approximately 400 graduates, 353 filled out an exit survey indicating what plans they have after graduating. One hundred eighty-two students are planning to attend a four-year college (91 at a University of California school, 46 at other state schools, 34 at out of state schools, and 11 at private California schools); 153 are going to junior colleges; five are enlisting in the military; five are going to vocational schools; three are going straight to jobs and five reported "other."
A few miles away at Fremont, students lined up with linked arms in red and white gowns with occasional hollers, high-fives and screams as escorts slowly led them out to the field.
Photograph by Dai Sugano
Graduate Tamara Jones celebrates with her mother Denethia Jones after the graduation ceremony last Thursday at Fremont High School.
Of Fremont's 309 graduates, 272 filled out the exit survey. Eighty-three students are planning to attend a four-year college (29 at a University of California school, 30 at other state schools, and 24 at private or out-of-state schools); 164 are going to community college; 11 are enlisting in the military; eight are going straight to jobs and three are going to vocational schools.
On the field at Fremont, amplifiers poured out an audio tape of students thanking their families, friends and teachers as the stands filled with on-lookers clutching balloons, flowers and occasional stuffed animals donning graduation caps. Students craned their necks trying to spot friends and family members.
"It's exciting, but it's kind of sad too," said Doreen Lloyd, who came with her husband to watch her first granddaughter graduate. "She's not crawling anymore and I can still remember her as a little girl."
Photograph by Dai Sugano
Maurice Kealinohomoku displays his graduation decoration proudly.
During the ceremony, graduate Jannis Jocius was one of five student speakers to address the class. She likened her high school experience to a sailing voyage she and her classmates each adapted to suit their personalities and preferences. She said some have built rafts, some have sunbathed their way through, some have sailed on luxurious ocean liners and some have sunk their ships.
"No matter which we have taken to get here, we've all done it," Jocius said. "And as we plot our next port of call, we pause. We are captains of our own ships and now we embark on a journey of our own course."
Rachel Levine spoke of individuals' responsibility to themselves as they venture into the next phase of their lives.
"We are given the challenge of discovering who we are as individuals," she said. "We all have it in us to create a bright destiny for ourselves. You and you alone hold the power to do this."
Photograph by Dai Sugano
Video cameras were in abundance at Fremont's graduation last Thursday.
Principal Pete Tuana and board member Kathryn Ho also addressed the crowd, congratulating the graduates on their accomplishments and reminding them that this is not the end of a learning process, but the beginning of a larger one.
And after the last of the graduates stepped up to receive a diploma, the class of '99 sang their alma mater and filtered out into the dimming night.
"I'm feeling very relieved and excited to move onto bigger and better things," graduate Kristy Larkin said. "All the hard work finally paid off and amounted to today."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
