Schools
SVHS Celebrates Graduation Under The Sun
The class of 2012 takes one last step on campus as students before stepping into the real world.
It took them four grueling years of early morning wake ups and extremely long hours of study and homework time but the Scotts Valley High School 2012 senior class can finally call themselves graduates.
Hundreds of family members, close friends, and faculty members were at the football field to watch the students walk across the stage to receive their diplomas, all with smiles on their faces brighter than the sun on the warm Wednesday afternoon.
Nine of the graduating students were also part of the International Baccalaureate diploma program that is designed for those who wish to move on to schools such as Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and the Universities of California.
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The crowd was in for a treat when Scotts Valley grad Emily Payne made her way onto the stage to sing, which led to total silence and at one point everyone was able to hear her angelic voice throughout the entire crowd.
After all of the graduates’ names were called out as a student at Scotts Valley High school for one last time, the football field was then quickly turned into a friendly mosh pit of hugs and handshakes, and classmates said goodbye for now or perhaps even for the very last time.
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Many of the kids will venture off into the real world and start with a full-time paying job right off the bat, yet some will stick with their studies and pursue the grand prize of a college degree.
Austin Yungmeyer plans to stick around and attend Cabrillo this fall to work hard toward a Veterinary Science degree.
And as for Salutatorian Jared Clark, he’s moving on to Cal Poly and plans to major in biology.
“I’m feeling excited,” Jared said. “It’s good to be done.”
His dad and Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark was also in attendance to watch his son move on from high school.
“Words can’t even describe how proud you are of them,” Clark said. “It’s so exciting to get an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of my son as well as all of his friends and of all the kids here in the class of 2012. They are all worthy of a strong congratulations.”
