Joy just the same anywhere for parents of Newport Harbor High School graduates
The sun set on high school in front of the 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.
Friday marked the end of a very uncommon year for the Newport Harbor High School class of 2020. But the living room at the Brigandi house, steps from the sand near the 65th Street beach, was as festive as any row in the bleachers as the party watched the streaming video tribute beamed to the large-screen TV. Parents whooped and cheered not just for their kids but their kids’ friends, present or not.
Lizzie Johnson’s graduation is the end of an era for her mom Wendy — the eldest in their family of four kids graduated from Harbor when Lizzie started kindergarten. Now Lizzie will go to Orange Coast College to study kinesiology before transferring to Cal State Fullerton or Long Beach State.
Wendy Johnson graduated from Harbor herself, as did her two brothers. She knows a few things about celebrating like a Sailor.
The global coronavirus pandemic redirected her final Harbor commencement, but only the setting.
“I’m not crying in the stands,” Johnson said. “I’m crying on the beach.”
Student speaker Jackson Sawall reminded his classmates how resilient they are, as hashtagged #nhhsgrad2020 congratulations culled from Twitter and Instagram scrolled beneath him.
“Being born in the era of the 9/11 terror attack and graduating in a global pandemic, people will view us as victims of tragedy. But we know better,” he said.
“These historical events, while brief in the larger scheme, can’t take away from the memories we have made, the stories we can tell and the experiences we have shared in the past 18 years. We are strong survivors who will be able to tell our children and grandchildren these stories someday.”
Chris Brigandi’s son Johnny, Lizzie’s longtime boyfriend, is the youngest of five, also all Harbor alumni. He opened his home to friends and his large family to fete Lizzie, her lifelong best friend Nichole Pena-Gomez and Johnny Brigandi, a linebacker for the Sailors who is set to play football at Chapman University.
Johnny, his dad noted proudly, won Harbor’s Athlete of Character award.
The living room was a different venue, but allowed even more people to celebrate the kids in a warm and cozy setting.
“I actually really enjoyed the intimacy of this,” he said.
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