Back Bay/Monte Vista High graduates celebrate victory earned in a year marked by uncertainty
If there’s one thing Back Bay/ Monte Vista High School students are familiar with, it’s rising to meet a challenge — for years the institutions have provided pathways to graduation for those whose life situations may have kept from completing school.
And for more than 100 seniors graduating as the class of 2020, the last stretch of the road to success has been especially hazardous, as the coronavirus pandemic and districtwide transition to distance learning provided extraordinary challenges to be overcome.
In a commencement streamed on YouTube Monday, school administrators and faculty members recognized the hard work and perseverance of this year’s graduates and praised the grit and determination that carried them across the academic finish line.
“For so many of us, these last three months have been exhausting and extremely difficult times to hang through, as we have been forced to worry like never before,” Principal Mike Wagner said in his remarks. “Our graduating seniors have shown the resiliency and tenacity to commit to a goal and see it through, because inside, these students truly want to succeed.”
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.
Filling in for the usual graduation procession, a photo montage of students with their caps and gowns and fun times captured on film before the campus closed in mid-March ran in between speaker segments.
After the names of some 114 individual graduates were displayed, teachers and staff members offered their own congratulatory remarks.
Monte Vista graduate Bella Stone, who will attend Orange Coast College in the fall and hopes to be a flight attendant, said joining the independent study school during her senior year helped her concentrate on her work.
“I needed a change, and Monte Vista turned out to be what I was looking for,” Stone said in the broadcast. “My teachers and counselors helped me take responsibility for my classes and assignments. I was able to excel with their caring instruction.”
Honoring 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.
Dana Black, clerk of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, authenticated the graduating class of 2020, conveying her pride for those who earned their diplomas.
“Today, our country more than ever needs young men and women just like you,” she said, commending their resilience. “Keep up that drive, because no matter where you do or what you do, you can accomplish anything — the only person you have to convince is yourself.”
In his remarks, Back Bay senior Angel Martinez thanked all the school staff who helped push him forward in his studies and wished his fellow graduates good luck in their future endeavors.
“I hope you chase your dreams and keep moving forward, because we’re just getting started,” he said.
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