Class of 2020 Series: Graduating in Orange County during the coronavirus pandemic
The Daily Pilot and TimesOC honor this year’s graduating seniors from high schools in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Laguna Beach and other parts of Orange County.
Newport Beach: Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, Pacifica Christian Orange County, Sage Hill, Newport Christian
Huntington Beach: Edison, Huntington Beach, Marina, Ocean View, Liberty Christian, Coast
Costa Mesa: Estancia, Costa Mesa, Early College, Back Bay/Monte Vista
Fountain Valley: Fountain Valley, Los Amigos, Valley Vista
Laguna Beach: Laguna Beach
Other Orange County schools: Brea Olinda, Santa Ana, Los Alamitos, Sunny Hills, Yorba Linda
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Los Amigos High School’s Jacqueline Angeles and Brian Pacheco both had physical and mental hurdles to clear before completing high school.
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Ashlyn Thompson, Lucas Hernandez, Matthew Bowman and Chang Yao (Tommy) are the members of Newport Christian’s first graduating class since 2010.
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Corona del Mar High School graduates celebrated in a drive-by parade around Fashion Island on Saturday morning. The Newport Beach police and fire departments, as well as Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill, attended the event.
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Madison Grogan was a straight-A student and served on the board of several school organizations while attending Fountain Valley High School.
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High school graduates in the Newport-Mesa school district walked in procession from Newport Elementary School to the Balboa Pier to celebrate graduation after the school district decided to hold virtual commencement ceremonies.
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The sun set on high school in front of the Newport Harbor High School graduation party and over the beach behind it — and the pride glowed as bright as our closest star at noon in the hearts of the families.
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Seven bright and good-natured boys from Corona del Mar High School, many wearing the glittering state championship rings they earned last fall as members of the Sea Kings football team, cheered and called out warm thoughts about their classmates and teachers as their faces flickered across the screen Thursday evening during a streaming video presentation that substituted for their traditional graduation ceremony.
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The parade began at Newport Harbor High School, taking a path that led the procession through Newport Beach to Costa Mesa, where it ended at Estancia High School.
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Estancia senior Michael Finicum viewed the commencement in a small at-home watch party with mom Dawn. The two protested the broadcast in May but found other ways to celebrate.
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Tanner Burton is heading to Arizona State University this fall, leaving behind his childhood home of Laguna Beach.
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Jack Kiesecker is bound for the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he will study psychology and neuroscience. He’s not sure if he wants to be a physician, but he does want to research a cure for the diseases that cruelly rob people of what makes them unique.
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Tuesday found Costa Mesa High senior Jordan Galante watching her graduation ceremony at home with her family, one of more than 700 who tuned in to the pre-recorded broadcast.
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The valedictorian of the small Newport Beach private school is headed to Westmont College to study English and pre-law. She wants to defend the people who most need it: the wrongfully incarcerated.
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Principal Dave Martinez steered away from mention of the coronavirus, instead choosing to focus on the resilience of the class of 2020 and how it may someday benefit society.
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In a commencement broadcast Monday, school leaders recognized the work of some 114 graduates and praised the determination that carried them across the academic finish line.
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For Marcus Winters, who has Down Syndrome, some things will inevitably change after graduation.
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Ki’Ara Rivera took on an active role in on-campus activities and fundraisers while at Valley Vista High in Fountain Valley. She hopes to become a history teacher to work with at-promise students.
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The Costa Mesa teen took her first course at Coastline Community College at 14. With more than 50 college credits, she’ll start UC San Diego this fall as a sophomore.
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Sage Hill’s Kate Miller is bound for Chapman University in Orange, where the Newport Beach resident will run track and cross-country for the Panthers while studying business administration.
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Los Amigos High School put on a virtual graduation for its seniors, one that drew more than 500 viewers for the livestream production.
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Nathan Bautista, from South L.A., came to the Costa Mesa campus late in his junior year with a transcript full of Fs. One year later, he graduated months ahead of his peers.
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After beating Stage II Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Laguna Beach High School’s Anthony Ramirez said he decided that fashion was where his heart really was.
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Sea Kings senior Asher Green is not only an accomplished Princeton-bound student and overall nice kid, he’s a pilot, at 18.
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Senior Xolani Hodel is the Sunset Conference Surf League Female Athlete of the Year. She competed in volleyball, basketball, soccer and track and field in her time with the Oilers.
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Stephanie Wiemann, Michelle Groudas and Jason Clements had to raise money, navigate city permits and wait out a coronavirus scare in order to put up banners for the seniors of Brea Olinda High School. But they went up just in time for graduation.
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Nearly 500 Chargers graduated during a drive-through ceremony Thursday.
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The Laguna Beach High School’s graduation ceremony was initially set to be online, but the district pivoted to a drive-through at Guyer Field.
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About 550 seniors graduated from Marina High School during a drive-through ceremony Thursday on campus.
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After months of distance learning, seniors saw each other on campus one last time in a drive-thru graduation commencement ceremony at Fountain Valley High School on Wednesday.
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The Seahawks celebrated their 282 graduates with a drive-through ceremony Wednesday on campus.
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Valley Vista High School held a drive-up graduation commencement ceremony for its class of 2020 on Wednesday in Fountain Valley.
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More than 700 graduates are honored during a drive-through ceremony at Huntington Beach High School on Wednesday.
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Logan Brooks moved across the country before becoming a two-time all-state performer for the Laguna Beach boys’ cross-country team. He was named the Sunset Conference Wave League Male Athlete of the Year.
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When Jennifer Henriquez Ayala came to the U.S. at 13, the only English she knew was “Hi, my name is Jennifer” and “I don’t speak English.” This month, she’ll graduate with top grades.
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Senior Alyson Nguyen, who has a 4.64 grade-point average, stayed very involved during her time as a Seahawk.
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Edison senior Faith Riehm has turned into an award-winning digital artist and will continue at Azusa Pacific University.
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Santa Ana High School valedictorian sends off class of 2020 with a message to give back to community
Santa Ana Unified School District held eight virtual graduation ceremonies during the past two weeks. Santa Ana High School valedictorian Priscilla Arceo presented a virtual graduation speech for both her high school and for prime-time television.
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Senior Emma Marsh helped the Marina girls’ water polo team win the CIF Southern Section Division 6 title and also helped out at home.
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Senior Sophia Cendro, who was a Distinguished Oiler Award finalist, designed the Trauma for Teachers workshop with the Huntington Beach Fire Department.
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The ceremony took place in the Mariners Church parking lot, where faculty, staff and families watched as Pacifica Christian Orange County’s class of 2020 graduated.
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Local high school seniors are getting surprise drive-by celebrations from teachers and elaborate mile-long car parades organized by their neighbors.
