Santa Barbara High School, one of the oldest in California, hosted its 151st commencement ceremony at Peabody Stadium. Before the ceremony, students circled the track to get to their graduation seats.

Student Reflections

During the ceremony, students heard encouraging and emotional words from their classmates making commencement speeches in both English and Spanish. Principal Ed Gomez encouraged students to text or message someone who has supported them during their high school years.

Ryder Merrick texted his mom and took a selfie. He plans to say more in person. ‘I am pretty ecstatic right now, I’m excited to move on and enjoy my life,’ said Merrick. Some students will continue their studies, while others will take a gap year.

Leilani Hurtado plans to attend Santa Barbara City College and then work in healthcare. ‘I want to go to college for radiology,’ said Hurtado. Commencement Speaker Rocio Vejar Montor, who received the Principal’s Award for character and determination, will be her family’s first-generation college student. ‘I’m going to head off to Cal Poly SLO for general engineering,’ said Vejar Montor.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.