The class of 2012 gathered on the football field together one last time Wednesday evening to celebrate their graduation among a stadium filled with friends and family.
Assistant Principle Matt Baldwin said he couldn’t be more proud of the class of 2012. “They’ve had to overcome a lot as a class, but they’ve done a remarkable job and they’ve all bonded together to make their senior year an amazing year,” he said. “They have a lot to remember and a lot to look forward to.”
This year, the Agoura High School Jazz Band tied for first place at conducted in Savanna Georgia, the baseball team won the and the theater arts campaign for a new building concluded with set to open next year.
For Jennifer Miguel, who will be studying nursing at Baylor College next year, the hardest part about graduating will be leaving behind her best friend, “We met in high school, I’m going to miss her. But we’ll write, text and call each other all the time” she said.
Jordan Palmer, who will study International Relations at Vassar College next fall, said that Agoura High gave him plenty of opportunities to pursue his passion. “I was always interested in a world perspective. I joined the International Baccalaureate program my junior year, and got to take classes that focus on international study.”
Standing next to friend and fellow International Baccalaureate graduate Andrew Turk, Palmer added that leaving Agoura High School would be bittersweet. “I really found myself here, I had an amazing experience,” Palmer said.
During the ceremony, the speakers reflected on the past four years as well as looked forward to the future.
Lucky Ding, the first senior to speak, told her classmate’s during her speech, “A Major Turning Point,” to pursue their passions.
“Continue living life free of what-ifs; pursue any idea no matter how ridiculous,” she said. With a smile Ding reminded the audience that in 2012, “The world is not ending, we’re just taking it over.”
Matthew Oster, Cheryl Gaul, Byrce Leafman and Gabriel Paganin then sang, “This Is the Moment.”
In the second student speech, "No Regrets,” Zachary Johnson, touched upon the suicide of fellow classmate Dan Behar as well as the deaths of Agoura’s Josh Feinberg and Griffen Kramer that occurred earlier in the school year.
“of October last year served as a sober reminder you truly only live once,” he said. “But out of such a poignant time came a glimmer of hope. We united as a class, as a school, and as a community to make sure we all live our lives to the fullest.”
Dave Moorman, president of the Board of Education who has a son in the graduating class, then delivered the commencement speech.
“Stay focused in the years ahead,” Moorman told the class of 2012. “There will be plenty of other pathways laid out for you, but unlike tonight, you don’t always have to go down the obvious path.”
