Is it possible for an entire class of graduating seniors to know each other?
Bowman High School’s roughly 200-member class of 2026 seemingly did, sitting in a handful of rows at the top of College of the Canyon’s football field Thursday night.
A not insignificant part of Bowman’s graduation ceremony’s air time was spent on student recognitions, for achievements well beyond their transcripts, and the long, loud cheers sent up by the rest of their class seemed to index an unusual closeness.
The recognitions themselves indicated Bowman staff, too, knew their students well enough to see clearly their arcs over the course of their time there — the hard decisions they’d made to turn around their attendance record, or get more involved in student activities.
Case in point: graduating student Xavier Pelayo, winner of the school’s Shirley Abrams Attendance Improvement Award, was given a round of applause that seemed to roll on as long as the award preamble.
“This year’s recipient exemplifies what it means to overcome obstacles with determination,” said Elizabeth Tarantini, a Bowman social worker. “Over the past year, he has made a conscious decision to lock in and prioritize his education, showing consistent dedication to being present, engaged, and focused on his studies … His journey is a powerful reminder that growth happens when effort meets opportunity.”
And perhaps more than any other Santa Clarita high school graduation, Bowman graduation dress had put a special emphasis on a wide variety of achievements: students participating in the substance abuse awareness program Drug Free You in Santa Clarita Valley, in green and blue cords, were asked to stand for recognition.
That appreciation seemed to cut both ways. Two Bowman faculty members’ retirements were announced Thursday night, as well as Principal Nina Zamora’s exit after five and a half years in the role, along with a string of staff member recognitions — each received the same loud, sustained applause.
Assistant Principal Richard Haring said of Zamora her vision of Bowman had set a bar for the school’s culture.
“As we all know, Bowman is a special place. It is a continuation high school where the students … (are offered) their last shot at an education. Nina always describes Bowman as the utopia of education,” Haring said. “But as she steps into her new role as the director of special programs, she reminds us that a utopia doesn’t just run on good intentions.”
After the ceremony, students told The Signal the teachers they’d found at Bowman gave them a new appreciation of what life at school could be like.
Graduating student Lia Rose Triana, wearing a magenta graduation cap decorated with the phrase “lived through this” with a picture of the cover of the Hole album of the same name, mentioned three teachers by name that’d gotten her through high school: Mike Mansfield, Jamie Herrington and Pam Thompson.
“The first couple years of high school were really hard,” Triana said. “I found so many people who helped me, and I just love this school now.”
Her classmate Kimberly Lopez said the same.
“Man, honestly, it was hard, but friends made it better, and school was actually fun with friends,” Lopez said. “Honestly, everyone supports everyone … and everyone helps everyone.”
