An end and a beginning

Christine Carrillo

Andy Pillsbury’s family flew in from Ecuador to see the momentous

event.

It was a celebration of the young man’s achievement and the main

reason for their first trip back to the United States in 10 years.

The 18-year-old was graduating from Corona del Mar High School,

alongside about 272 of his fellow classmates.

His family couldn’t be happier about it.

“We’re just so proud of him, and I’m so glad,” Andy’s mother,

Patricia Pillsbury, said as she fought back tears. “It’s a really

great school. ... It’s given us a lot of memories.”

The memories the graduates have created over the years, many of

them since they started their Corona del Mar High careers in seventh

grade, were all many of them could think about. The same went for the

school administrators.

“This group [of seniors] was so enthusiastic and such a cohesive

group, they really worked well together,” said Brooke Booth, junior

high principal at Corona del Mar High. “It’s exciting, and a little

melancholy, because some of them have been here for a lot of years.

... It’s hard letting them go.”

Wearing designer sunglasses to give a little style to their blue

cap and gowns and big smiles across their faces, these teens couldn’t

hold back their excitement.

“It hasn’t really hit us yet ... but it’s really exciting,” said

18-year-old Lauren Jacobson, who stood among a group of her closest

friends. “[My friends] are the people that I’m going to remember

forever. We’ve really grown up together.”

While many of them have begun to feel ambivalent about the steps

that lie ahead, they felt equally ambivalent about leaving their high

school past behind.

“I’m anxious because I’m going to be an adult for the first time,”

said 17-year-old Tristin Monroe, who will be attending Loyola

Marymount in the fall. “But with every end, there’s a new beginning.”