Learning Post Academy graduate Marcos Jaime Jr. had two choices; he would either drop out of school to take care of his mother after suffering a stroke or stay in school and leave her.
That was when he found LPA to finish school.
“When Mom had her strokes, I said I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to have to stay home, take care of her because I really didn’t have many other people who could stay there full time,” Jaime said.
He added, with tears in his eyes, that he did not think he was going to finish school and graduate, but he worked extra hard and crossed the finish line in March.
LPA, known for its alternative learning options, hosted its 2025 graduation at Canyon High School’s Performing Arts Center on Friday evening, with about 40 students graduating on stage, and 113 in total.
Each student was applauded during the ceremony with testimonials of how they strived in their unique environment.
Principal Juliet Fine began the celebration with a speech of encouragement and realism of the evolving world.
“How many of you are wondering if I used ChatGPT to write this speech?” Fine asked the crowd, laughing.
Fine said that artificial intelligence was going to change the landscape of professional journeys and said the only thing it cannot do is connect with what people can as humans.
“It cannot care or enjoy empathy and humanity, that’s more powerful than any algorithm. This need here, so many of you, reminded me what it means to be present and participate,” Fine said.
Fine added that each graduate was there to write the new chapter of their lives, and just as AI is evolving in front of them, so are they.
Francis Levi Greene, or just “Levi,” as he wished to be called, began his commencement speech with his own personal experience of how he came to the school.
“So, in 2023, I was in the hospital because I’m Type 1 diabetic. But I was sick for probably like three months going into sophomore year because it was a super slow process. It was affecting my mood so much and my energy. And although I wasn’t physically ill, you could tell. I was in the hospital for almost a week, and I had missed so much school that I was like, ‘I just cannot keep up with this,’” Greene said in an interview.
Greene added that LPA was his version of a lifeline in a time of need.
“This diploma you are being awarded is not only a piece of paper, it is a key, a key to unlocked doors, not even imagined yet. You can be a doctor, a lawyer, an actor, an artist, anything,” Greene said to his fellow graduates.
Greene plans to start his next chapter by completing his general education classes at College of the Canyons, then transferring to a university for some type of art degree, due to his long background in theater.
During the ceremony, three students were awarded scholarship money given by the Santa Clarita Valley Scholarship Foundation – Gavin Ward was awarded $1,085, Violet Forgrave was awarded $1,500, and Cozette Lessor was awarded $1,750.
Once awards and scholarships were given out, the conferring of diplomas began with Fine and Michael Vierra, superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District, taking photos and shaking the hands of each graduate, while various teachers spoke on behalf of each student’s accomplishments and their plans.
After each graduate got their moment to bask in finishing school, Fine said her final words: “You may now move your tassel from the right to the left.”
