While Thursday dawned sunny and calm, by noon Lompoc’s notorious winds were threatening to pull caps from graduating seniors lined up alongside Huyck Stadium at Lompoc High School.
Waiting for the school band to launch into “Pomp and Circumstance,” the 281 graduating seniors fidgeted with their caps and gowns, waved to family and friends and smiled for photo after photo.
Waiting in the gym to march, four seniors called their big day a “bittersweet one” despite their excitement at graduating and starting new chapters at various colleges.
Cheyenne Marie Marmolejo, class vice president and the student slated to give Thursday’s “Brave Pride” address, is headed to California State University, Fresno, where she plans to pursue a nursing degree.
Fellow graduate Ciarra Lee Ann Blow, class president, also plans to study nursing, but at the University of Arizona.
Anahi Morelos Navarro, a member of the California Scholarship Federation, is headed to the University of California, Berkeley, where she will study chemical engineering.
Niko Sapp, also a CSF member and the ceremony’s academic speaker, is headed to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo to study kinesiology, he said.
Lompoc High Principal Paul Bommersbach beamed with pride gazing at the students in blue and white gowns. “This is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for these kids,” he said. “I am very proud of them.”
Up at Cabrillo High School, Principal Jeff Wagonseller was just as proud of the graduating class, which numbered 314 seniors.
“Today is a great day, because we are celebrating the kids who made it through 13 years. Today is all about them,” he said.
William Heath, a Legion of Academic Merit student graduating with an above-4.0 GPA, sported a wide grin as he detailed his plans to move to Provo, Utah, for summer semester at Brigham Young University. “I’m just so excited!” he said.
Fellow Cabrillo senior Kelsey Lee Mickelson, also a Legion of Academic Merit graduate, and a student who earned perfect grades, is headed to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. ‘Today’s definitely bittersweet, but I am looking forward to what’s next,” she said.
In the stands waiting for the ceremony were James “Buddy” Bertling, and his wife, Marcy. Their graduating son, Daniel, will attend Allan Hancock College’s film program before transferring elsewhere, said Marcy Bertling.
James Bertling retired from the United States Air Force after 26 years and Daniel, the couple’s second of three children, was born in Stavanger, Norway, said Marcy Bertling. The family now resides in Vandenberg Village.
“I am so incredibly proud of him,” she said of graduate Daniel.
— Laurie Jervis blogs about wine at www.centralcoastwinepress.com, tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.
