Senior Sunset is a tradition where the graduating class comes together to watch the sunset and celebrate the end of their high school journey. It’s a time for them to reflect on the memories they made, spend time with friends and take in one last moment as a class before stepping into the next chapter of life. The evening is filled with laughter, conversations and creating last memories and this year alongside a screening of “Teen Beach Movie”.
Kaylani Shepherd and Emily Acosta reflect on their upcoming graduation, expressing mixed emotions like sadness and bitterness. They chose to spend their senior center time together because of their long-stand friendship they had since 7th grade. Their advice for freshmen is to ask for help and not procrastinate. Shepherd’s favorite high school memory is senior prom while Acosta’s was freshman year Homecoming that highlighted the importance of having cherished memories with friends. “It’s the end of this era and we are onto a new one,” Shepherd said. (April Vasquez)Zalia Moran and Lelan Pinon share their proudest accomplishments, including meeting the right people and being able to graduate. They offer advice to underclassmen, emphasizing the importance of hard work, not procrastinating and maintaining friendships. Pinon’s favorite memory includes football practices while Moran’s are choir experiences and being able to build a family off of that. “Just try your best, and it’ll work out,” Moran said. (April Vasquez)
Ashley Ochoa and Matthew Sanchez spend their final senior activity together as a couple. Ochoa expresses her happiness finishing a chapter despite the challenges she faced. Her aspirations for post graduation are to graduate college with a degree and to repay her mom for giving her everything while Sanchez aspires to become a successful therapist. He is relieved and happy that his long high school journey is coming to an end.
“It’s surreal. It’s a feeling that I’m never gonna get to live again, but I’m really happy and excited to finally end this chapter of my life,” Sanchez said.
Senior Hunter Clendenen views finishing high school as an ordinary day for him; the real resilience comes from no longer having to deal with certain classmates. His favorite part of high school was reading “The Crucible” during junior year English. Looking ahead, Clendenen plans to attend Mt. SAC Community College, find a well paying job, and take things one step at a time as he works through his life with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). “Good luck to the freshman,” Clendenen said. (April Vasquez)Aldo Olivares and Desiderio Medina express excitement to finally finish high school and move on to college. Olivares is attending Upland Pomona College, while Medina is attending University of California, Riverside (UCR). They advise freshmen to work harder, especially in the second semester, never give up and to stay optimistic. Medina’s proudest accomplishment is finishing high school with a 4.6 GPA . “Ima complete all my dreams after high school,” Olivares said. (April Vasquez)Left to right, Lola Ally, Karissa Victoria, Samantha Saray and Victoria Flores spend time talking and hanging out while waiting for other friends to arrive. Victoria says that her two past Spanish teachers, Stephanie Serrano and Maria Espinosa have had a big influence on her, as they always believed in her and her efforts. “I would just say thank you, they’ve made a very big impact on my life and I will never forget them,” Victoria said. After graduation, Victoria plans to attend University of California, Santa Cruz (UC) to study sociology in hopes of becoming an FBI agent one day. (Nicole Hernandez)Zoe Brink and boyfriend, Adrian Zamora, enjoy a small picnic with snacks and food from Sprouts Farmers Market. “I’m happy, but also scared of what the future will hold for me,” Brink said. After graduation, she plans to go to Pasadena Community College then transfer to a 4-year college. (Nicole Hernandez)Left to right – Brianna Gallegos, Abigail Pastrana and Octavio Villanueva enjoy In-N-Out at sunset while hanging out. To incoming freshmen next school year, Villanueva gives advice to not slack off and end up in the position he was once in, ending up in credit recovery. To him, finishing high school is surreal and feels strange to think about the future.. “I plan to go to Mt. SAC and probably study ceramics. I’m having a hard time finding what I want to do, but ceramics is one of them… I just like the idea of molding stuff and using your imagination to create whatever you want,” Villanueva said. (Nicole Hernandez)Gavin Betancourt and girlfriend Clarissa Arango enjoy the evening with friends. Arango expresses that being done with high school is a surreal feeling; however, she is excited to start this new chapter in her life. Some advice she gives to freshmen is to enjoy high school, and do everything at least once. “Go to at least one baseball game, one football game, one of everything, so you can at least say you did something,” Arango said. After graduation, she plans to go to Mt. SAC Community College and study nursing. (Nicole Hernandez)Seniors arrive early for the screening of “Teen Beach Movie.” Vendors sold boba and tacos. (Nicole Hernandez)
