Farewell

My dear fellow students, we made it! We stand here today at the cusp of something great. The last four years were an adventure that began, and are now ending, here in Thalassa Stadium. Our freshman year started off with a bang, or rather an almost bang. As small freshman we scurried onto this very field both slightly scared but also excited at the prospect of missing class after our first, yes first, bomb threat. Things calmed down from there, or so we thought.

Although as upperclassmen we tend to tease freshmen, we can't forget the quiet victory we ourselves felt when successfully making it up the freshman hill before class started – that was truly a feat, and the closest thing to hazing that is legal. While the freshman hill may have been the bane of our existence at the time, our journeys were just beginning. The journey continued in sophomore year where we experienced lower campus in full force and dealt, for the first but certainly not the last time, drum-line following us in the halls as we awkwardly moved out of the way.

Last year, we partook in another lockdown and the creation of the much dreaded tardy sweeps. For the guests that don't know, tardy sweeps are the perfect excuse to laugh at fellow peers from the safety of the classroom as they run to their next period in fear of being late and receiving Friday school as cheesy music plays over the intercom.

When I was reflecting on this past year, six words came to mind, “Mom, will you call me out?” All joking aside, this is the year that defined us as the Class of 2015. As seniors, we experienced some of the best and worst moments high school had to offer riddled with terrible loss but also wonderful successes. This past April, we suffered the loss of one of our fellow students, Saylor Voris. And in the following month, we suffered the loss of our beloved English teacher, Ms. Robin Satterlee. There is another member of San Clemente High School whose absence is notably felt. Michael Halt, our principle for the past two years, is not here to witness this momentous day. His abrupt departure has turned San Clemente High School into the UC Berkley of high schools as we've made it clear that “We like Mike.” The situation has been difficult and confusing, but has yielded important discussions both inside and outside of the classroom. Through all these events, our senior class has subtly transitioned from students to members of the community. With the help of parents, teachers, administrators, and staff over the past four years we can confidently leave this field today with the assurance that we will go out into the world as informed, conscious citizens.

A lot of people are eager to say that the four years we spend in high school don't mean much, that it's “just high school.” High school is where we begin to shape the rest of our lives and more specifically where we begin to shape who we are as people. This is where we learn teamwork from sports, this is where we learn loyalty from built and burned friendships, this is where we learn ethics from turnitin.com. That is what we take with us when we leave here today. That is what makes us the Class of 2015. That is what makes us San Clemente High School. I'm honored to be apart of more than “just a high school” and the wonderful community that stands behind it. And so, it is with great pleasure that I say to you on the field where it all began, my fellow graduates, congratulations.