‘Hope of this school’

COSTA MESA ? Elizabeth Crosby and Daniel de Arakal have been virtually inseparable over the last two years.

The Orange Coast Middle College High School seniors have represented their campus on the Newport-Mesa school board. This spring, they were both recognized at the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce’s annual Academic All-Stars breakfast. On Thursday afternoon, they graduated, and their names even brushed together alphabetically: Childs, Comer, Costa, Crosby, de Arakal.

“She’s an amazing person, and I’m totally honored to have worked with her this year,” said Daniel, 17, who is bound for Chapman University to study music.

In a short commencement ceremony in Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre, Elizabeth and Daniel were two of the 40 graduates who crossed the podium. Five members of the school board and several officials from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and OCC were on hand to applaud this year’s graduating class.

Middle College High School, which began admitting students in the fall of 1996, combines high school classes with college study. Students share the library, career center and other facilities with adults. The high school campus itself, by far the tiniest in Newport-Mesa, consists of a pair of buildings tucked away near OCC’s technology center.

And this year, the school came close to setting a milestone: When the first semester ended, not one student was failing a single class. In the end, the school didn’t quite have a perfect year, but the campus still posted its highest percentage of seniors graduating.

“You are the hope of this school, and all the good things that are going on here will continue,” school board President David Brooks told the seniors.

As students crossed the stage, a giant computer screen showed baby pictures and inspirational quotes selected by each graduate. Some of the words came from Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X and other historical figures.

After the ceremony, students and their families gathered outside on the foyer, with food provided by the junior class. Elizabeth, 18, posed for a slew of pictures while cradling her niece in her right arm.

“It’s surreal, honestly surreal,” she said about commencement. “I was looking at this and thinking, ‘No way.’ ”

Classmate Kenneth Johnson, 18, was thrilled ? not only about graduating, but also because he won a character award this year and would get his name on a plaque in the school.

“I’m a legend now,” he said. “I’m going to be immortalized.”