Santa Clarita Christian School held its 41st annual commencement ceremony on Saturday, with some students ending their time there after having attended since kindergarten.
Mark Wilson, an administrator at SCCS who delivered the opening prayer, said it wasn’t just the students graduating that day, but the families as well.
“We also want to recognize those families that are graduating. There are those families who have been at SCCS for a couple of years, and those that have been at SCCS for a couple of decades,” said Wilson. “Well, we consider you graduating families when your youngest is completing their course here and graduating today and so you (the family) are also graduating and we just want to say thank you.”
Many students expressed thankfulness in their speeches, noting the sacrifices their parents made so they could attend the school.
“When I first started thinking about what to thank our parents for, one thing kept coming to mind,” said Bethany Wilson as she delivered the student appreciation address to parents. “It’s no overstatement to say that you’ve given up many things to get us here. It doesn’t matter if kids have been going here for a year or their whole life, coming to SCCS is not an easy financial choice. But, despite this, by your generosity, my class and I have been blessed to go to a Christian school.”
While the graduating class of 31 was small compared to other high schools, the enthusiasm brought to the graduation ceremony was not. The audience laughed as the joyous family of Landon Hermanson held up cut-outs of his face and loudly cheered for him.
Hermanson would go on to win Athlete of the Year later in the ceremony, drawing more cheers and laughter.
The Graduate Charge to the Class of 2023 was given by Chaz Jouhnson, who said it was hard for many in his class to have imagined the amount of memories made since they took the very same stage after graduating from kindergarten.
“As we’re officially closing this chapter of our lives, let’s look forward into our stellar and vibrant futures and make sure that we’re retaining the values and beliefs that really matter,” said Johnson. “Some of which I’ve mentioned, but there are many more. Focus on the ones that have eternal consequences. The ones that make you, you, and me, me.”
As per tradition at SCCS, a video message from each student was played and, as they spoke, they walked up to their families and presented them with a rose — a token of their appreciation of the sacrifices they made.
In addition to the many scholarships handed out at the ceremony, several awards were also presented as well. They are as follows:
• Female Student Athlete of the Year: Dakota Rappleye
• Male Student Athlete of the Year: Landon Hermanson.
• Valedictorian: Chaz Johnson.
• Timothy Award: Bethany Wilson.
