Sequoia High School graduates celebrate milestones and friendships

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As Sequoia High School celebrated the Class of 2025 during its 128th commencement on Friday, student speakers reflected on the journey that brought them to this moment, centering their speeches on how friendship was at the heart of their high school experience.

“What I’ve learned from Sequoia is that we can’t do life alone, and we don’t have to,” said Associated Student Body President Emma Chiavegato during her welcome address. “No matter where we are, physically or mentally, there’s always a community with us.”

The day began with all the graduates taking part in a procession, walking through the campus to the football field for the ceremony. The school’s orchestra played soft melodies as the graduates took their seats, with more than a thousand people in the crowd applauding and cheering. During the student speeches, graduates shared how their journeys were deeply influenced not only by academic achievements but also by the friendships and communities they found along the way.

Senior Class President Cayla Chen, in her address to the graduates, recalled feeling overwhelmed and lost as a freshman. She shared how those once intimidating hallways gradually became familiar, filled with friends, teachers and memories that shaped her high school days.

“We’re graduating not just with our diplomas, but with stories, friendships and a version of ourselves that didn’t exist four years ago,” Chen said.

She then passed the Lamp of Learning, “a symbol of new and formative knowledge,” to the incoming Class of 2026 President Aiden Yu.

Three student speakers, Luis Rodriguez Esquivel, Sasha Efimchik and Hade Curup Suruy, spoke about “Unaliyi,” a Cherokee word that translates to “place of friends,” which is also the school’s motto. They reflected on what the word has meant to them and their classmates as they looked back on the past four years and ahead to the next chapter of their lives.

Esquivel spoke about the school’s strength in diversity and how there is a place for everyone, mentioning groups built around music, sports, theater, science, writing, chess, Legos, K-pop and student unions.

“We’re all different, but that makes the community we make up as a school stronger here,” Esquivel said.

Efimchik shared that he first felt the spirit of Unaliyi as a freshman trying out for the tennis team, when a senior teammate welcomed him with stories of her experience and guided him to the locker room.

“The longer she spoke, the more I felt my fears vanish and my awkwardness melt away…,” Efimchik said. “As we move forward to new endeavors, I hope that our spirit of community goes with us.”

Suruy introduced herself as a proud Guatemalan American and first-generation graduate. She dedicated part of her speech to her parents and the first-generation Latino community. Later, she gave a heartfelt shoutout to her friends, whom she credited as her support system throughout the ups and downs of high school.

“They have shown me that having a friend to share a moment with, like opening an acceptance letter or choosing an outfit for prom, are the moments you will miss the most because they were there, even in the small moments,” Suruy said.

Principal Sean Priest recognized students in several academic programs. These included AVID students, who committed to college from ninth grade; Digital Arts Academy and Health Careers Academy graduates, who completed career-focused coursework; and students who completed rigorous International Baccalaureate classes, either as full IB Diploma candidates or individual IB Certificate recipients. He also recognized students with lifetime membership in the California Scholarship Federation, recipients of the California Seal of Biliteracy, and those who held leadership roles in student government.

In addition to academic honors, Priest called attention to graduates who had contributed in other ways, through performing arts and athletics. He acknowledged students who enlisted in the military, those who are the first in their families to graduate from high school or attend college, who held a job to support their families and all those continuing their education this fall.

“If you stood up tall for something or someone that you believe in in the last four years … if you have earned the right to turn your tassels in a few minutes and receive your diploma from Sequoia High School — graduates, please stand tall to be recognized,” said Priest.

All graduates stood tall and proud as the final group to be honored.

Check out this year’s list of Sequoia High School graduates and read our interviews with Ethan Politzer and Desiree Huffer, two of the graduating seniors.

For all of our graduation coverage, go to our central graduation page.

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