A warm June morning had guests and grads searching for water and shade, but it didn't dampen the enthusiasm at the 121st commencement ceremony held at San Benito High School.
With the theme "Every End Has a New Beginning," the ceremony drew its typically large crowd to the grassy area just north of Andy Hardin Field on the campus. The Class of 2016 was led in to the ceremony by grand marshals and senior class advisors Derek Barnes and Juan Hernandez, followed by the presentation of colors by San Benito Eagle Scouts Brandon Burchard, Cameron Burchard, Jake Last, Garrett Lawrence, Patrick Murphy, Logan Sowards and Devin Wright.
Senior Niko Veltri sang the National Anthem and ASB President Carly Coelho offered the welcome address, at one point saying, "The Class of 2016 has made its mark on San Benito High School."
The traditional pomp and circumstance was evident during the ceremony, from songs sung by students to speeches by administrators, student leaders and scholars.
Seventeen graduates were recognized for having perfect attendance for all four years of high school and 19 students were honored for earning a 4.0 or higher grade point average. The top 10 academic seniors received recognition as well, as school counselor Sue Rojcewicz introduced them along with the colleges they plan to attend. They are:
- Valedictorian Logan Sowards (BYU)
- Salutatorian Isabella Arreola (University of California, Berkeley)
- Esdras Aleman Sanchez (UCLA)
- Logan Randle (Temple)
- Patrick Murphy (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo)
- Charles Walker (U.C. Berkeley)
- Violet Lingenfelter (Northeastern)
- Rebecca Cartelli (U.C. Riverside)
- Mitchell Osborn (U.C. San Diego)
- Carly Coelho (U.C Berkeley)
- Karen Yulissa Ramos Lupercio (CSU, Stanislaus)
SBHS alumnus Joshua Miller captured photos from the ceremony for BenitoLink.
