With graduates donning red and white robes, Bishop Garcia Diego High School celebrated 64 graduating students Friday evening during its class of 2023 commencement ceremony at the school’s Eva Jane McDonald Memorial Field.
Speakers at the school’s 108th graduation ceremony included Bishop Diego President Karen Regan, valedictorian Lily Simolon, salutatorian Aria Nafziger and keynote speaker Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Los Angeles-based Homeboy Industries.
According to its website, Homeboy Industries is the “largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world,” supporting former gang-involved and previously incarcerated people for more than 30 years.
Before founding Homeboy Industries, Boyle also served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, the “poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles” at the time.
Boyle spoke about some of the people he’s worked with at Homeboy Industries and how they have turned their lives around.
“In this dark house of the world, let love live through you,” Boyle said. “Bishop Diego is not the place you’ve come to, it’s the place you go from, and love will find a way to make windows and so will you.”
Bishop Diego High School boasts a 100% college acceptance rate, with 98% of students involved in co-curriculars and athletics, according to the school’s website.
“Our school is so much more than the classrooms we studied in, the gyms we played sports in, or the field we stand on today,” salutatorian Nafziger said. “The community that we have joined here is one we will treasure long after we cross the stage, receive our diplomas and step into our future.”
Nafziger has participated in several athletics and extracurriculars and was an active member in every honors society offered at Bishop Diego High School. According to Regan, Nafziger started a math tutoring business during COVID-19, serving middle school students in Santa Barbara.
Meanwhile, valedictorian Simolon also participated in several Bishop Diego and community activities, as well as multiple sports. Simolon also accumulated more than 500 community service hours during her time at Bishop Diego High School.
“From one another, we figured out how to cherish the little things, how to appreciate the humble and kind gestures of others, and how to shoot for the stars,” Simolon said. “We have all been lit with a spark, and with it, we are all destined to brighten the darkest corners of this world.”
The school’s class of 2023 logged more than 12,500 community service hours and were awarded more than $6 million in merit and athletic scholarships, Regan said.
