Forty graduating seniors waited eagerly for their last roll call at the Santa Clarita Valley International Charter School Class of 2024 graduation ceremony on Friday evening at Higher Vision Church.
As students walked to their seats draped in stoles, sashes and ribbons, the audience cheered on their learners for their high school completion.
Advisory Council Ambassador President Donavan Robinson opened the night of speeches with advice to his fellow classmates graduating and moving on to the next chapter of their lives.
“It’s better to take your time and assess your options than to rush to set a goal. Make a plan. … You all have the ability to figure it out … Work hard for it. Success may be difficult … We all have 24 hours in a day and we all have truly limitless potential for what we can achieve. It’s not about when you wake up, it’s about how you spend your time,” he said.
Among the graduates stood 18 Golden State Merit Awardees, three International Baccalaureate Diploma Program recipients, two Biliteracy Seal recipients and nine graduates with a 4.0 GPA or higher.
The commencement invocation was given by teacher, parent and director of the school cafe Juana Flores DeRodriguez. Her speech, short and sweet, wished the graduating seniors all the best in their future endeavors.
“Follow your heart [and] do what makes you happy,” she said.
Fourteen students were recognized as founding learners — students who began their education at SCVi beginning in kindergarten or first grade all the way up to the 12th grade.
Those students were: Aidan Allen, Brooke Crane, Diamante Cresticelli-Cameron, Natalia Guzman ,Andrea Hernandez ,Graciano Lopez, Paul O’Brien , Soren O’Brien Miko Robles, Saul Rodriguez, Carter Sand, Jensen Shearin, Vivienne Tondeur and Rebecca Vidana.
Graduate Jaden Marsh delivered a quirky speech that had the audience laughing and engaged throughout his time at the podium.
“[My] classmates struggle[d] through hard times in pursuit of their dreams … rolled through every punch thrown at them, classmates who really made me want to smack them into next week,” he said jokingly. His statement was followed by laughter.
“Classmates even after high school I’ll still be friends with … who inspire me to do better and work harder every single day. I feel that people who truly deserve to hold their heads up high are the ones who stand here today. I stand here today to put an end to a monumental stage of my life, and enter the next pinnacle moment page in my story, I can continue to the next chapter of my life, knowing you all will achieve history defining things that will change the future just something we can all be proud of,” he added.
Salutatorian Diamante Cresticelli-Cameron recalled the students’ journeys navigating school during a pandemic.
“We had to do school from our rooms, isolated in a time when the world was supposed to be our oyster. Everything was slammed shut … yet we stood strong … Every single person sitting in this audience today has a gift. We all have something we can bring to this world. We all have a reason to be here. We all have incredible strengths and talents in ourselves but when we band together, when we have the bravery to open our hearts, open our lives to someone else. That strength can multiply exponentially … As we go forward into the future we do so as a new beginning, a fresh start. We have the opportunity to redefine the limitations that other people have placed on us … The world may have tried to break up, but we will not be broken.”
SCVi Exploration Founder Carter Sands shared his biggest accomplishment at SCVi, which was developing a science experiment with other students for a competition hosted by the International Space Station.
“I submitted an experiment proposal and my project was selected to go to space. I spent the next year working with my team of SCVi learners as we consulted with NASA scientists and professors from universities around the country … We were so focused on things that we couldn’t do that we nearly missed some of the awesome opportunities that were right at our fingertips. It took rocket science for me to figure that out … Class of 2024, I encourage you to grab hold of every opportunity you get and keep holding on.”
Hugo Turner performed an original song with his guitar dedicated to his late father that had the audience cheering him on during the ceremony.
Kevin Becker rewrote his faculty address many times and finalized it just minutes before the ceremony, he said.
“Instead of saying goodbye, I thought I would spend one last lesson on how to take our next steps into new beginnings,” he said. “Be kind, this is the key to everything. In all you do, choose kindness … Don’t be afraid to change your mind … It is rare in this world to know the right answer but when you do, fight for it with a vigor unmatched by anything that could combat you. Be a citizen of the world … taking purposeful time to step outside of ourselves to see what is happening around the world. With all the wild and outrageous things going on in our lives, it can be hard to remember we’re not just one country … so choose to take purposeful time, once a day, once a week, once a month to take a step outside of ourselves to take note of the bigger world and the humans that make it up. It is in these ways that you are going to bring such light and greatness to our world.”
