A special night of celebration for Monache seniors
Monache High School graduates decked out in their light blue and gold caps and gowns Wednesday night marched to the familiar tune of “Pomp and Circumstance” beneath the bright lights of Jacob Rankin Stadium as they eagerly waited to receive the diploma they worked so hard to obtain these last four years.
Principal Eric Barba welcomed the graduates’ friends and families.
“As I look across this field and see each of your faces tonight I’m reminded of many stories, each one of you has your own unique and individual story, some have been written in tears, others in laughter, courage, and confidence,” said Barba. “Never the less, each of your stories comes together today to celebrate what you have accomplished. What happens after today is up to you, make your life count.”
Senior Class President Sara Calderon also gave a welcoming speech and fellow senior Natalie Garcia followed giving the same welcoming speech in Spanish. This year’s Marauders senior class had 11 valedictorians, which were
all asked to come up on stage to be honored and give a short 30 second speech.
Joselyn Buckley, Glessilda Cabanban, Lori Cha, Pierre Crouzet, Natalie Garcia, Viviana Guitierrrez, Brayden Leyva, Odaliz Ortiz, Bryn Short, Simran Sidhu and Kayla Watson were this year’s valedictorians.
“Nobody said that the road would be easy, but one day you will remember everything you went through to get to where you are now, and you will know that it was worth it,” said Guttierrez giving her speech in Spanish. Valedictorian Cabanban gave her speech in Tagolog and then later Crouzet gave his speech in French.
To add a little bit of humor to the night, Short admitted that most of them are probably busy deciding what Snapchat filter to use for their graduation selfie, but asked them to reflect on the type of human beings they will become.
After the valedictorians had their say, the Monache Marauder Band along with senior band members played the senior song “Celebration.” After the song was over, Guitierrez and Student Body President Sequoia Brewer each gave a farewell speech with Guttierrez once again giving it in Spanish.
“August 2013 is when everything began, our first day in the ninth grade, throughout these years something has motivated us to keep moving forward,” said Guttierrez. “Someone once told me that motivation doesn’t last, as we get ready to enter into the real world, we cannot forget what motivated us to get to this moment. Our high school experience, these last four years have helped us determine our future.”
To commence the night’s celebration, Barba was back on stage to declare this year’s Monache senior class official high school graduates. Members of the Porterville Unified School District trustees Pete Lara Jr. and Tomas Velasquez and Matha Stuemky were there to present students with their diplomas, as the students marched one by one up the stage to the ever-present, never-changing tune of “Pomp and Circumstance” before going on to hug their family and friends.