CORONA DEL MAR HIGH SCHOOL: Looking forward to the future

Margeaux Pawell didn’t have the chance to be a typical high school kid.

Due to health issues, she was limited in what she could do. She once knitted and made jewelry, but had stopped for some years. She wasn’t able to do athletics and participate in some clubs; she missed a lot of time at school and had to give up her art. To complete her education, she scrambled doing online and part-time classes.

But that isn’t her life anymore. Healthy and happy, Pawell is looking only at the future.

“I am looking forward to doing what I want, whenever I want to do it,” said Pawell, 17, who declined to elaborate on past health issues.

Pawell will be attending the University of San Francisco to receive her degree in entrepreneurial studies and graphic design after she graduates from Corona del Mar High today.

She wants to open her own business after college, but for now is looking forward to her opportunities.

Pawell was involved in Peer Assistance Leadership at Corona del Mar and did more than 250 hours of community service. She plans to create more memories involving helping others when she gets to San Francisco.

“It’s the next big step — being on your own, living in a new place,” she said. “I am excited to be able to do things I haven’t been able to do.”

Besides getting back into her artistic endeavors, Pawell plans to join a charity knitting club, among other clubs. For Pawell, it is the work she can do in school that is most rewarding. The opportunities for outreach were one of the reasons she chose USF, and she is ready to put the past behind her.

“I am very excited about graduation,” Pawell said. “It’s a bigger deal for me. I am still taking it in, still a little shocked.”

Catholic athlete looking for new experiences, cultures

Kevin Holland has never been one to shy away from a new challenge, a new place, or new people. It may not have made him the “typical Orange County” kid, in his mind, but he likes it that way.

A strong Catholic, Holland attended Our Lady Queen of Angels from kindergarten through sixth grade. But when most of his classmates transferred on to other private schools, Holland decided he wanted a different experience and decided to take the step across the street to Corona del Mar Middle School and High School.

A second baseman for Corona del Mar’s baseball team and a top student, Holland was still able to find time to be involved in numerous extracurricular activities. When he graduates today, the senior will be thinking about the things he did outside the classroom rather than the work inside.

“I am not going to remember certain tests or homework activities,” Holland said. “I will be thinking most about the relationships I was able to make with students, faculty and administrators.”

Holland’s most memorable experience during high school was when he went to Kenya with classmates and teachers. His eyes were opened to the difference in lifestyle and challenges between Newport Beach and a Third World country. It was that experience that has helped motivate him to want to see what else is out there.

“Going outside of the bubble and getting that new experience was phenomenal. I am looking forward to getting outside of Newport Beach,” Holland said. “I wasn’t really the guy to go out and get hammered every single weekend, but I was able to find a good group of friends and was able to socialize and hang out and go to parties.

“I was never the weekend warrior that you see on the TV, but I was able to make the best of the resources available in Newport Beach.”

SCHOOL STATS

VALEDICTORIANS: Christopher Cottrell, Kimberly Bui, Dane Johnston, Ashley Etemadi, Joo Eun Shin, Nicole Klein, Thomas Dialynas, Evan Zepfel, Susan Moheimani, Alireza Nazemi, Elena Redelsheimer, Courtney Sands

CLASS SIZE: 313

GRADUATION RATE: 100%

PERCENT OF SENIORS GOING TO COLLEGE: 93%

HOMECOMING KING AND QUEEN: Kevin Rask and Jamie Lawson

PROM KING AND QUEEN: Thomas Dialynas and Annalise Leffler

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.