‘An entire future lies ahead’
The future may be uncertain for the class of 2009, but one thing is clear, senior Marianne Epstein told her fellow John Burroughs High School graduates Thursday.
“The worst is over — no more state testing,” she said.
Her speech, one of six by students, drew cheers from the crowd of cap-and-gown-clad students on the school’s football field.
Bursts of confetti and screams of joy capped off the ceremony, which took place under stadium lights as a cool breeze blew across the field, waving tassels and red gowns.
Students had spoken to the group about the completion of what may have been the best four years of their lives — so far. And they looked ahead with excitement.
“An entire future lies ahead of us that is full of possibilities,” Robert Farmer, one of two valedictorians, told the audience. “All we have to do is go and take ours.”
Seniors reflected on their friendships at Burroughs, some of which had grown during 13 years in school.
Some talked of bonds forged on sports teams, in music groups or on morning runs to a nearby snack stop for breakfast burritos. Others were most affected by their academic experiences.
The strong friendships made during the familiar routine of high school might soon be tested with distance, as peers begin to spread across the region, country and world for education and work, students said.
“I’m a little emotional to be leaving because this is like my home,” said Nathalie Torres, who wasn’t sure which of her friends she would be able to keep in touch with as years begin to pass.
But fears of separation didn’t put a damper on the celebration.
Students danced, hopped and skipped across the field after getting their time to be in the spotlight and receiving diploma covers from members of the Board of Education.
When the ceremony was over, students high-fived, jumped, hugged and kissed before eventually boarding buses headed to Disneyland for a nightlong celebration.
“It’s just a great emotional experience,” said Cameron Blocker, who was among a group of boys chest-bumping and shouting with excitement as the field cleared.
Christian Zuniga relished the moment.
He almost didn’t get a chance to walk in the ceremony after having struggled through a language barrier and failed to pass crucial math exams. Zuniga immigrated from Honduras five years ago and had been unable to grasp some math concepts while learning English. His goal was to move on to Glendale Community College and study culinary arts, en route to possibly becoming a chef, but first he needed to make it through high school. After failing a required algebra test four times, Zuniga was granted one final chance.
He was determined to pass and even studied through Wednesday night before taking his exam just hours before the ceremony. It paid off.
“I feel like a superstar,” he said as he walked onto the field at the start of the event and caught a glimpse of the overflowing bleachers.
His struggle to make it through high school taught him an important lesson, he said — one that he won’t forget: “If you work hard, you can get it.”
THE GRADS
Victoria Abramian
Andrew Ray Acharon
Molly Adkins
Nathan Agarpao
Ruther Orland Agonoy
Elisa Aguilar
Mason Aguilar
Nicole Aguilar
Angela Alcantar
Phillip Alcantara
Edwin Alejandre
Ashley Alexander
Ariceli Alfaro
Anthony Aliaga
Michael Allen
Hans Javier Alpizar
Jasmine Alvarado
Adriana Alvarez
Chelsea Alvarez
Elvera Alvarez
Jessica Alvarez
Justin Alvarez
Melissa Alvarez
Joshua Amen
Philip An
Kimberly Andersen
Claire Anderson
Paige Andrews
Matthew Apacible
Jaymee Aranita
Sherwin Argueta
Gabriela Arias
Christopher Armstrong
Christina Arredondo
Kimberley Arredondo
Shawn Artero
Natalie Artiles
Janis Arzate
Douglas Ashford Jr
Olivia Asmar
Adam Atlas
Jennifer Atwell
Lisa Atwell
Paul Avila
Lennin Aviles
Seda Ayrapetyan
Sasoun Azalbar
Marc Louie Bacierto
Evelyn Badillo
Mayra Baldonado
Julia-Victoria Barajas
Brandon Barbello
Dominique Barnes
Lindsay Barney
Brett Bass
Christy Bauer
Kevin Bauer
Janelle Bautista
Magdalena Bautista
Tyler Beauregard
Kevin Beebe
Michael Beimford
Serphui Bekhloyan
Jurenne Belanio
Kelli Belcourt
Damary Belmont
Brittany Belt
Isquian Beltran
Michael Benavente
Amy Benavides
Briana Benedetto
Allyson Benne
Audrey Berdecia
Robert Bermeo
Elke Besvold
Kalee Beverly
Nadia Bianchi
Dustin Blankenship
Cameron Blocker
Ashley Bonilla
Kelly Bonner
Jordan Booker
Gerald Bosque
Nicholas Bozeman
Christopher Brackett
Kayla Braud
Mallory Braun
Breeanna Briggs
Michael Briones
Corey Brittain
Katelyn Budrick
Nicole Buena
Nicholas Bullias
Roxanne Burkhart
Laura Bustos
Gianina Camacho
Patricia Camacho
Adameros Camesa
Maynor Camey
Taryn Campos
Rico Carbajal
Alina Cardenas
Angela Carpenter
Gabriel Casillas
Miranda Castaneda
Carlos Castellon
Natalie Castillo-Duran
Daisy Castro
Estella Cazal Esparza
Valeria Ceballos
Anthony Cera
Michael Ceron
Wendy Cervantes
Jenjira Chaisamrong
Codye Chaney
Alexander Chavez
Fabiola Chavez
Juan Chavez
Neidi Chavez
John Clairville
Thomas Clark
Grace Clibourn
Dylan Cochran
Sofia Cohen
Cameron Collier
Zackary Collier
Kaily Collins
Melissa Colon
Amanda Conrad
Tay Cook
Micheal Cope
Jonathan Corella
Jacqueline Coronado-King
Stephanie Cortes
Bianca Cortez
Liliana Covarrubias-Arrenquin
Nikki Cox
Brian Cozakos
Brian Cremin
MaLisa Crowe
Daniel Cruz
Maria Priscilla Cruz
Melissa Cuddy
Kathy Dalley
Jordan Davidson
Dustin De Caro
Minela De La Cruz
Aener Sidney De Mesa
Ella De More
Erika De Paz
Janelle De Veyra
Mary DeBettignies
John Delbarian
Thomas DeMasters
Michelle Devile
Yadira Devora
Elyssa Diaz
Camille Diolosa
Lance Dixon
Deanna Douglas
Francis Dournayan
Roxanne Duarte
Jeffery Dumas
Anthony Dupre
Dominique Duvall
Destini Edwards
Sarah Edwards
Jenna Eklund
Veronica Eligio
Jonathan Elliot
Ava Elong
Madison Elsner
Salena Encinias
Vanessa Enciso
Marianne Epstein
Alejandro Escobar
Noel Escobar
Ghylda Espinosa
Miguel Espinoza
Christopher Esquivel
Daniel Etter
Nicole Evans
Madison Evenson
David Falkenstein
Mahan Farizi
Robert Farmer
Steven Faudree
Samantha Felipe
Luis Felix
Jilian Ferguson
Deanna Ferris
Rudy Figueroa
Nicholas Fiock
Jaclyn Fish
Catalina Flores
Christian Flores
Gabriel Flores
Jacob Flores
Kevin Flores-Ortiz
Laura Flores-Rojo
Jenna Flynn
Meagan Fonnegra
Brittany Fox
Ford Fraley
Danielle Francisco
Kymberh Francisco
Paola Franco
Samantha Frasquillo
Saul Frausto
Brittany Frederick
Frank Fuerte
Brittany Garcia
Edlyn Garcia
Maritza Garcia
Sara Garcia
Christian Garciga
Lissette Garduno-Ramirez
Leah Garrett
Sirun Gasparyan
Corrina Gentemann
Madeline Gharabagh
Brianna Gimenez
Cydelle Nadine Gimotea
Brandon Girod
Andrew Glick
Aaryn Goldberg
Mayra Gomez
Melissa Gomez
France Gonzaga
Alejandra Gonzalez
Denise Gonzalez
Eddie Gonzalez
Elizabeth Gonzalez
George Gonzalez
Jeffrey Gonzalez
Johann Gonzalez
Pablo Gonzalez
Shannen Gonzalez
Skyla Gordon
Pablojose Grajeda
Luis Granados
Myles Grene
Gilen Guenther
Francisco Gutierrez
Katelyn Hale
Justin Hall
Roger Ham
Christopher Hamilton
Scout Hammond
Samantha Harand
Thomas Hardy
Vincent Harlow
Kyle Hart
Christian Heath
Sarah Hellman
Andrew Henderson
Nathan Hentz
Amy Herman
Lucy Hernandez
Patrick Hernandez
Richard Hernandez
Darlene Herrera
Omar Herrera
Zachary Heskett
Amanda Hetrick
Carlie Hidalgo
Veronica Hidalgo
Donald Holbert
Tori Holland
Vanya Holt
Christopher Hosea
Paige Housner
Amanda Hubbell
Pablo Huerta
Christina Huggins
Dakota Hughes
Elaine Huynh
Tung Huynh
Worapan Iddhibhakdibongse
Gregory Inda Jr
Sali Ishak
Gayane Ispirian
Kevin Jackson
Gilbert Jacobo
Michael Jacobs
Laura Jansen
Lizzeth Jara
Aerin Jensen
Marlon Jimenez
Julie Johnson
Megan Johnson
Christopher Jones
Sean Kahikina
George Kairouz
Shinobu Kajimoto
Samuel Kaplan
Jessica Kapuy
Natasha Keith
Christian Keshishian
Diana Kheir
Songvit Kiatpiriya
Julian Kibbie
Gyeongryeol Kim
Shelley Klawitter
Shanica Knowles
Brett Kodama
Michael Koshiro
Anthony Koshkarian
Armand Koulouzian
Natalie Kouyoumdjian
Kate Krantz
Jordan Kreisberg
Jen-Ling Kuo
Emily Lahaie
Kyle Lally
Melody Larin
Mikel Lat
Cherlyn Latar
Jordan Lawrence
Annika Lawson
Christian Lazo
Alissa Le Master
Brett LeDuc
Jillian LeDuc
Hyekyu Lee
Wendy Lee
Katrina Leon
Lleny Leon
Evelyn Lepe
Jack Leroux
Zachary Letts
Amanda Leyva
James Lichnovsky
Yu-Yao Liu
Cody Loebs
Araceli Loera
Shane Loock
Anissa Lopez
Daniel Lopez
Edwin Lopez
Lesly Lopez
Stephanie Lopez
Corie Louie
Jorge Lozano
Francisco Lozornio Jr
Alexander Lujan
Sonia Lussier
Alexandra Lynn
Tyler MacDonald
Angelica Magno
Cherrelle Majano
Andy Maldonado
Mario Maldonado
Edward EJ Manning
Marie Isabelle Marbella
Peter Mardini
Joshua Mares
William Markgraf
Natasha Markham
Heather Markow
Laura Martin
Ana Martinez
Benjamin Martinez
Clider Martinez
Eleazar Martinez
Evan Martinez
Kathy Martinez
Kiara Martinez
Lorena Martinez
Tanisha Marx
Marisa Massara
Nahapet Matevossian
Chelsea Matthews
Marissa Maynes
William McCall
Katelyn McCarney
Matthew McQuown
Vanessa McQuown
Carolyn Meisner
Miguel Mendez Jr
Brandon Mendoza
Zarina Mendoza
Carly Mersola
Lisette Meza
Danielle Miceli
Gustavo Mier
Miles Milanovich
Tyler Miles
Olivia Millett
Angela Milosevic
Kathleen Mirabal
Danielle Mireles
Ferima Mohammad Homayun
Mauren Molina
Steven Montenegro
Eric Mora
Karen Mora
Anthony Morales
Jacob Morales
Joshua Morgan
Christian Morris
Ashley Morrison
Gabrielle Moss
Jennifer Muller
Angela Munoz
Christina Munoz
Ashleigh Murtha
Alison Musat
Salem Mushammel
Leigha Naeole
Joelle Nanawa
Christian Navarro
Peter Navrides
Melik Nazliyan
Western Nelson
Kristina Nikodijevic
Alan Noravian
Rudolf Nowak
Baron Angelo Nuguid
Joseph Nunez
Jonathan Nwachie
Vivian Ochoa
Derek Olson
Sadie O’Neill
Andrew Orbison
Sascha Ordelheide
Jose Orellana Cortez
Ruben Orozco
Johnny Ortega
Luis Ortiz
Jonathan Pacheco
Andrew Pacia
MaryAnne Padel
Raymond Palafox III
Dennis Parada
Claudia Pardo
Daniel Park
Angela Parker
Eric Parker
Edwin Parris
Aaron Patricio
John Paul
Jan Payad
Sarkis Payaslyan
Stephanie Payez
Marina Pedone
Jessica Pennington
Kyle Peren
Yesenia Pereyra
Ron Perez
Sasha Perez
Elizabeth Peters
Sahlee Peyton
Vanessa Phi
James Phipps II
Anh Phung
J Evan Piehler
Matthew Pierce
Peter Pina
Brian Portillo
Meagan Powell
Cassandra Pozos
Jeffrey Provan
Nicole Quispe
Alamanda Ramirez
Gonzalo Ramirez
Monica Ramirez
Jameson Ramos
Joshua Rankin
Jonathon Reily
Amanda Reinhold
Michael Reinoso
Edward Francis Reyes
Juana Reyes
Ronald Reyes
Kyle Reynolds
Jessica Rheaume
Amanda Richardson
Tyler Ricotta
Alejandro Rincon
Christina Rios
Edwin Rios
Jason Rivera
Carlos Rivera Jr
Jeffrey Rodriguez
Jon-Michael Rodriguez
Kelly Rodriguez
Nelson Rodriguez
Alexandra Roman
Katherine Romero
Stephanie Romero
Theodore Roque
Edwin Rosal
Brian Rosales
Gemma Rosas
Luis Rosas
Edward Ruano
Edwin Ruiz
Elizabeth Ruiz
Robert Ruvalcaba Jr
Daisy Saenz
Renee Safarians
Christopher Salazar
Mirelle Salib
Bridget Salinas
Bryant Salinas
Stephanie Saltos
Seanell Ann San Andres
Carlos Javier Sanchez
Christer Sanchez
Joseph Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez
Oscar Sanchez
Veronica Sanchez
Melissa Sandoval
Jonathan Santillan
Abigail Santos
Janissa Saracino
Hasmik Sarkisyan
Zabella Sarkisyan
Anthony Savage
Keaton Savage
John Schwer
Danielle Scott
Michael Scovill
Roger Selva
Guadalupe Serrano-Luevanos
Arian Seth
Jordan Shnitzer
Anahi Silva
Monique Sisneros
Randy Snider
Dellon Soderstrom
Dominic Soggiu
Aaron Solis
Daniel Solorzano
Brandon Son
Karlee Songstad
Jonathan Sosa
Mary Sowders
Nicole Spagnola
Brittni Spear
Alexis Starks
Kyle Stearns
Joshua Steele
Melissa Stevens
Andrew Storms
Jacqueline Strande
Zachary Strauss
Samantha Strobl
John Strube
Gregory Stuck II
Erik Suarez
Dakota Suckley
Lloyd Sullivan
James Sutton IV
Michelle Swann
Kenneth Tago
Alexander Tanigawa
Tyler Tanner
Kaycee Tashjian
Mohamed Tawil
Alexandra Tchaousoghlou
Alyxandra Tejada
Elizabeth Tejeda
Melissa Tejeda
Russell Templet
Arshak Ter-Pogosyan
Kristina Terteryan
Robert Thacker
Georgina Thomas
Kori Thompson
Michael Thompson
Jessica Thornton
Agatha Trisha Tiama
Richard Tilley
Michael Todd
Tony Tong
Albert Toro
Alyssa Torres
Nathalie Torres
Emily Torrico
Caroline Toth
Trevor Tracy
Lauren Trautman
Daniel Trejo
Michael Trejo
Top Triamwong
Johnny Truong
Jessica Tsay
Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit
Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit
Maxwell Tuszynski
Dylan Tyler
Geoffrey Tyndall
Bruce Urena
Alvaro Valdez
Emanuel Valdez
Daniel Valdivia
Sebastian Valenzuela
Matthew Van Dam
Gregory Vasquez
Joshua Velandria
Eduardo Velarde III
Melchor Vergara
Jonathan Vichaidit
Ingrid Villa
Nina Villareal
Cassandra Villegas
Paige Voehringer
Patrick Vogel
Esther Volper
Katherine Von Dohlen
Aekawin Vongasavarit
Samantha Walbert
Kristin Walters
Michael Washington
Yasmine Watanabe
Cody Weisman
Jackson Wescott
Alexander Whisler
Kayleigh White
Kelly Williams
Kyle Williams
Shane Wilson
Jeffrey Wise-Davis
Lexington Wochner
Cameron Wong
Preeyanan Wongsasitorn
Damon Wood
Andre Yanez
Hannah Yonce
Zachary Zagars
Jessica Zaizar
Keenen Zamora
Ivan Zamudio
David Zelaya
Jaquelin Zepeda
Briana Zubia
Christian Zuniga
Pandora Zurreal