Santa Maria High School graduates Leydi Rios and Tania Ramirez walk into the graduation ceremony on Thursday along with their fellow members of the Class of 2018. 
Righetti High School alum Pyror Baird, who recently appeared on NBC’s The Voice, made a surprise appearance during the graduation ceremony Thursday. 
Members of the Pioneer Valley High School Class of 2018 walk in to graduation ceremonies on Thursday. 
Salutatorian Kush Patel and valedictorian Joon Chang join with Aaron Lee, associated student body president, during the Righetti HIgh School graduation ceremony Thursday. 
Santa Maria High School graduates walk into the graduation ceremony on Thursday. 
Santa Maria High School graduates walk into the graduation ceremony on Thursday. 
Santa Maria High School graduates walk into the graduation ceremony on Thursday. 
Santa Maria High School graduates throw their caps into the air in celebration. 
Salutatorian Kush Patel speaks during the Righetti HIgh School graduation ceremony Thursday. 
Righetti High School graduates throw their caps into the air in celebration.
With a surprise performance from an alum who received national exposure for his singing career, Righetti High School's class of 2018 kicked off the day of graduation ceremonies in the Santa Maria Valley on Thursday.
Pryor Baird, from the RHS class of 2001 and a top eight finalist on “The Voice” television show, performed near the end of Righetti’s commencement, singing the same song, “Time of Your Life,” from his own ceremony years ago.
“Righetti Warriors, I hope you have the time of your life,” Baird told graduates. “Congratulations. Good luck. Have fun. Be good to one another. Stay true, and everybody just be good human beings to everybody — you’ll be so much better in life, I’ll guarantee it.”
Earlier in the ceremony, valedictorian Joon Chang and salutatorian Kush Patel recalled pivotal moments of high school.
“High school has been an amazing and incredible experience, and Joon and I are both truly blessed to have shared it with all of you,” Patel said. “High school has taught us that all you really had to do to make friends was open a pack of gum in the middle of class.”
Chang asked his classmates to imagine being 70 years old and showing pictures of themselves using the Snapchat dog filter, sparking laughter from the crowd.
“I do not doubt our class’s ability to be successful, and I’m positive that you’ll be successful in whatever endeavor you take on,” Chang said. “But I just want to remind you to never lose sight of what is truly important.”
Having a billion dollars or brand-name possessions won’t matter at the end of life, Patel said.
“The only thing that lives on is the love and memories you have left behind,” Patel said. “So I ask you today to be the change in this world, not be afraid. The world is truly yours.”
Other speakers were graduates Kyrianan Ruiz, Cassi Colangelo and Aaron Lee, along with Principal Karen Rotondi.
In all, the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District celebrated 1,900 graduates this week at the three comprehensive high school campuses and one continuation high school.
Santa Maria High School Saints said farewell to another class of graduates — approximately 500 — with a ceremony mid-day Thursday at the stadium on campus.
Since opening its doors in 2004, Pioneer Valley High School saw its 12th senior class graduate on Thursday under blue skies and in front of a full house at Panther Stadium.
Principal Shanda Herrera told the more than 600 seniors that combined as a class that the students would be receiving more than $1.5 million in tuition, scholarships and financial awards in the next four years as they pursue their next level of education.
“Wow,” Herrera said. “As a class, that is breathtaking.”
During her opening remarks, Herrera recognized the numerous students that excelled academically while at Pioneer Valley and wore colored sashes, such as gold, over their graduation gowns to show off their achievements by asking the teens to stand.
She also noted that a new white sash introduced this school year, and sported by many students, signified a positive academic effort made by those wearing it and counted toward the high school’s overall report card.
“I congratulate all of you today,” Herrera said. “I’m so proud of the class of 2018. Good job.”
The principal also thanked the hundreds of parents in the audience for “giving us your children for the last four years.”
Salutatorian David Hernandez-Pinon told his fellow seniors to not be afraid of the next stage of their lives, even if it’s an unknown, as it’s foolish, leaving them with a quote from Ronald Reagan, who he referred to as an actor and not a former president.
“The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted; it belongs to the brave,” Hernandez-Pinon said, borrowing the words from Reagan, who spoke them as president while addressing the nation in January 1986 after the Challenger disaster.
In her speech as class valedictorian, Erica Diaz Cervantes spoke about the odds being stacked against her when she entered school, simply because of her Mexican nationality, and said people always told her she’d be one step behind.
“It turned out I caught up and went one step ahead,” Cervantes said, eliciting cheers from her fellow students.
She told the Pioneer Valley class of 2018 that as they start the next chapter of their lives, to always remember to not compare themselves to others and to also not let the color of their skin or how much money is or isn’t in their wallets define who they are.
“The meaning of success is different for each one of us,” she said. “Always find a way to make it work. This is only a pit stop to refuel.”
Reporter April Charlton contributed to this report.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
