A line of black gowns entered Rio Memorial Field to the cheers of families and friends on Friday as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate Santa Ynez Valley Union High School’s newest graduates.
Kim Sheehan, district superintendent and school principal, welcomed the class of 2025 and their loved ones to the commencement ceremony.
In her address, Sheehan thanked the community for its support and for alumni who lend their time to making the school better for students.
Turning to the students, she encouraged the graduates to embrace the next chapter of their lives, cherish their relationships and embrace the challenges ahead as opportunities to grow stronger.
“Your journey is yours to shape. Embrace it with humility, determination and commitment to continue to grow,” Sheehan said. “When you speak of the valley and Santa Ynez High School and your experience, speak of its greatness and the community culture that embraced and helped shape you.”
The first of the two commencement speakers was Chloe Ann Perez. In her speech, Perez talked about the struggles of starting high school in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and having multiple new principals in four years.
Perez said that at the time, her biggest fear was not making friends, but now she sees familiar faces as her classmates.
She ended her speech with a Filipino phrase that translates to, “Where there is difficulty, there is relief.”
“Take this far with you in life and remember that hard times are temporary and surviving high school is a great example of that,” Perez said.
The second commencement speaker was Ilan Torres, who spoke about the graduates’ challenges, including the AI apocalypse, controversial speed bumps, and doomscrolling.
Torres reminded his class that humans are meant to be together and encouraged them to remember that loyalty, humor and empathy are qualities that empower people to be successful.
“True success lies in choosing to embrace our diversity and seeing the worth in every person we meet,” Torres said.
After a performance of the song “The Spins” by Mac Miller, Sheehan and Board of Trustees president Chris Johnson certified the graduates’ degrees.
Want to celebrate a graduate in your life? Submit your own graduation announcement to Noozhawk’s Class of 2025 showcase.