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Under clear skies and warm weather, 447 seniors at Sequoia High School’s Terremere Field in Redwood City celebrated their graduation with family and friends.
During the ceremony, the 2024 class, who started their high school careers under remote learning due to COVID-19 restrictions, championed their peers and teachers.
“Our journey didn’t have an easy start,” said Claire Dulsky, Champion of the Class. “We started on Zoom and experienced something we never thought we’d say: how much we missed being at school.”
The tone of the day was the hard work and dedication of the school’s 125th graduating class, which experienced both highs and lows during their tenure at Sequoia.
This notion was reflected in Tabitha Oliver’s speech, touching on moments of encouragement and stress.
“I won’t lie to all of you and say that my time here was puppies and rainbows because it wasn’t,” Oliver said. “There were times that I spent crying in the bathroom because of the stress of the IB Diploma.
But for all those bad moments and days, there were just as many where I felt so loved, happy and supported on campus,” Oliver added.
Oliver said that Sequoia is different from all the other schools she has attended because of the support of classmates and teachers.
Mathew Ruiz, Sequoia Varsity Soccer captain, encouraged his fellow classmates and team.
“While we have people to meet and places to conquer, for now, I want to thank you for the amazing opportunity to have been part of the soccer team,” Ruiz said as he spoke in the field he and his teammates so often played on.
Teresa Alvarez and Sophia Tabarez Andaya, two AVID (Advancement Via Individual
Determination) students also spoke about being first-generation American students who, despite the challenges of paving their own way, could lean on their parents and were proud of their Latina heritage. They both also spoke highly of the program’s ability to demystify college for them.
In a speech that weaved Spanish and English, given the school’s large Latino demographics, Principal Sean Priest reflected on the different roads the classes students can take with them going forward.
“Caminante, no hay camino,” Priest said, quoting the Spanish poet Antonio Machado, before handing out diplomas. “Se hace el camino al andar.” Then, the phrase in English was repeated: “There is no road. The road is made with your steps.”
“In some cases, you will have embraced our lessons, in some cases, you will reject them,” Priest added. “I think in the best cases you will have reimagined them.”
This article misquotes Ethan Thacker for a different student. Mathew Ruiz, the sequoia varsity captain said that quote. Additionally, Mr. Priest’s quote should read “caminante no hay camino” not caminando no hay camino.