Graduations commence this week in Surf City

Andrew Edwards

For more than 1,800 seniors at Surf City high schools, this week will

mark the end of their high school years.

Graduation ceremonies for the four Huntington Beach high schools

were scheduled for Wednesday and today. The strains of “Pomp and

Circumstance” fill the air, and parents and relatives cheer for their

loved ones as the graduates’ names are called. “I look to the

graduation as being a formal rite of passage,” Huntington Beach High

School Principal Frank Berry said. “It’s a tradition that’s been time

honored for hundreds of years.”

The high school experience is unique for all students, but one

common denominator remains -- high school and all of its joys and

trials will be over.

Many graduates will continue their studies in colleges and

universities, while others will go into the workforce or wear the

uniforms of the armed forces. But all will have grown up a great deal

in the past four years.

“It’s exciting to see that scrubby little freshman come in and

mature into a mature adult,” Marina High School Principal Steven

Roderick said.

Marina and Ocean View high schools celebrated commencement

ceremonies Wednesday. Graduation can be a powerful experience, not

only for students and their families, but also for educators,

Roderick said.

“That’s when you realize that what you’re doing as a profession

makes a difference,” he said.

Roderick described his students as a very well-rounded bunch.

Ocean View High School’s Principal Karen Gilden described her

graduating class as very community oriented.

“It’s unusual to have as many kids in this class as there are that

have worked in the community,” she said.

Huntington Beach and Edison high schools will hold commencement

celebrations today. Like the Seahawks, Edison’s Chargers are also

remarkable for their willingness to serve, Principal Cynthia Clarke

said.

“This year’s class, I would say, these seniors are unique in their

community service, volunteering that they do on their own,” she said.

Clarke offered 2004 Valedictorian Rebecca Gayle as an example of a

service-minded student. Gayle said her work includes youth ministry,

tutoring, wearing an Easter Bunny suit at the city Easter egg hunt

and giving her time at Hoag Hospital. She agreed with her principal

that many of her fellow students are ready to aid others.

“A lot of kids go out of their way to help the community,” she

said.

Gayle plans to study science at UC Santa Barbara and is

considering a career as a pharmacist or a teacher.