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SIERRA VISTA — Rubber ducks, glitter, letters, playing cards and more adorned the caps of many of Buena High School’s graduating seniors Thursday night.
Not wanting to be lost in a sea of blue, students took to the caps to add their own personal flare to the milestone event.
“I don’t like it plain,” said Briana Betancourt, whose cap was covered in glitter with clear beads glued around the edge. “It’s just not fun.”
Lauren Bouton painted an “L” on top of her cap and lined the rim with bells.
 Jessica Guild, left, and Jillienn Padello share a tearful congrats as Thursday’s graduation ceremony comes to a close at Loveless Stadium. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
Bouton said she decided to decorate the cap because “there’s so many people and the caps all look the same.”
But as the 596 graduates walked across the field of George and Frances Loveless Stadium, they all appeared the same: Faces tilted toward the ground and hands holding onto caps as wind gusts threatened to steal them.
“Before we all fly away, let’s go ahead and get this started,” said graduate Rafael Chon, who served as the master of ceremonies.
Sierra Vista schools Superintendent Renae Humburg gave her final commencement speech, and said it many ways it felt like her own graduation.
“I came here in 1996 when you were in the first grade,” she told the students. “I watched you all grow.
“I’m so proud of you.”
Senior class president Arman Reyes reminisced about the class’ four years, talking about triumphs and obstacles they overcame to get to where they were.
“This year we were finally seniors, though I didn’t feel that old, I was a senior nonetheless,” he said. “The year started out with some tough losses, but we managed to continue on with the ones we lost in our hearts.”
Valedictorian Matt Houston reminded his fellow graduates to enjoy the evening, and the point they had all reached together in their lives.
“As a year, 2008 has been quite unremarkable,” he said. “However, as a class, 2008 is amazing.”
“Tomorrow there will be problems to solve and decisions to make, but tonight is a time to celebrate” Houston added. “You are the class of 2008, and you are far from mediocre.”
A cold wind blew steadily throughout the ceremony, caps sometimes coming off the graduates, while friends and family huddled together wrapped in blankets and hooded jackets. “Are you cold?” asked keynote speaker Logan Phillips as he addressed the class.
The question was met with an enthusiastic “yes” by many. “Your achievements should make you warm,” he joked.
Phillips encouraged the graduates to take risks for what they love and learn about the world around them. But, he said, he didn’t have all the answers.
“I have a secret: I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “Here’s another secret: I think that’s OK.
“This is what life’s about: processing every single day and figuring out what it is.”
Phillips is a Buena graduate himself, Class of 2001, and said it was a strange honor to be up on stage addressing the new graduates.
“Seven years ago I was sitting exactly where you are sitting,” he said. “You are moments away from no longer being the Class of 2008 — you are about to become the Class of 2000 and great.”
KATIE EVANS can be reached at 515-4611 or by e-mail at katie.evans @svherald.com
Watch the Herald/Review’s Web site — www.svherald.com — for video from Thursday’s graduation ceremony at Buena High School. If you have pictures of the graduation that you’d like to share with the community, either e-mail them to svhnews@transedge.com, or go to the Herald/Review’s Web site, click on the “photo” link and click on “submit your own photo.” Once there, follow the directions to submit a photo to our online readers’ photo gallery.
The following people were listed as having graduated with the Buena High School Class of 2008.
A
Patrick Acosta, Hannah Acree, Patricia Adams, George Adney, Ashleigh Aguirre, David Alexander, Justin Alexander, Kaela Allen, Melanie Allen, Carissa Amon, Kenneth Anderson, Melissa Anderson, Joselin (Jocelyn) Anderson (Olivas), Luis Apolinario, Felix Aponte, Romy Aponte, Dezirae Archuleta, Jesus Arevalo, Frank Armenta Jr., Joseph Arnason, Stephanie Arocan, Calvin Ashworth, Jessica Atkins, Aundrea Austin, Natalie Avitia, Lilly Axelson
B
Jordan Bain, Cara Baker, Jamie Baker, Marcel Baker, Alex Bangle, Alicia Banks, Sergio Barrera, Chassity Barringer, Alia Battle, Sandra Baxley, April Beaver, John Beech, Sasha Bejarano, Jeremy Belden, Christin Belfield, Erika Bennett, Samantha Bergseid, Zuleima Bermudez, Paul Berry, Briana Betancourt, Michael Billington, Mary Biza, Malcolm Black, Alexis Blackellar, Justen Blacklock, Ajasta Blake, Brianna Boatman, Jennifer Bodie, Tiffany Bomar, Kelly Borer, Shanna Borker, Carl Logan Boss, Lauren Bouton, Joshua Bower, Jeremy Boyer, Randy Braggs, Michael Bramwell, Ronald Brandtman, Beau Bright, Joshua Brock, Ashley Bronson, Katelynd Brooks, Joseph Brower, Sabrina Brown, Brittany Brown, Margaret Brown, Taylor Buchea, Katie Buckler, Cheona Buman, Heather Buman, Ronald Burdette, Elena Burghardt, Christopher Burk, Christelle Burrola, Lucas Burrows, Ashley Burwell, James Byrd Jr.
C
William Cain, Fernando Calderon, Samantha Calderon, Joshua Cameron, Jeremy Campas, Danielle Cangiolosi, Joseph Caro, Amanda Carter, Denia Castanon, Jonathan Castineira, Danielle Cattani, Christopher Certa, Arthur Cervantes, Randa Cespedes, Soon Wook Chang, Amye Chaparro, HolliAnn Charm, Ashley Chavez, Ignacio Chavez, Jasmine Cheeley, Jessica Cherry, Rafael Chon, Ann Chung, Miyoung Chung, Matthew Ciccariella, Myriah Clay, Travis Clay, Miranda Coates, Mayra Cordova, Ryan Cornell, Danae Cosper, Janelle Covert, Steven Crabb, Mittie Crabtree, Christian Craddock, Kelsey Craig, Jeremy Crider, Jeredyn Cross, Michele Crowley, Ashley Cruz, Jean Carlo Cruz Ortiz, Jonathan Cuevas, Artemeus Curtis, Amanda Cuscito, Cheyenne Cuvelier, Sarah Czernik
D
Cara Dalton, Demetrius Daniel, Reese Dare, Kyla Davenport, Chantal Davila, Nathaniel Davis, Roshad Davis, Eder-Lyn Dayrit, Carlos De La Rosa, Jacob De Sio, John Deakin, Chelsea DeBee, Nicole Delaney, Marc Denney, Brian DeWitt, Magaline Doherty, Katherine Dominguez, Mason Dominy, Scottie Donovan, Joshua Dooley, Jacob Dottle, Heidi Dove, Gericke Drayfahl, Stephen DuBois, Shannon Dudley, Julia Duncan, Jacob Dunn, Kristen Dunn, Javier Duran, Topaz Durham, Bryce Dworshak, Ashley Dykstra
E-G
Christopher Ebeler, Adam Eddy, Christopher Edwards, Leviticus Elisaia, Annalee Ellis, Ian Ellis, Vanessa Encinas, Kimberly Engols, Savilla Erwin, Lea Escarciga, Pablo Espinoza, Stefanie Fabian, Michael Fallows, Brittany Farrar, Leo Ferdianad III, Justin Ray Fernandez, Alan Ferra, Emily Filleman, Jacinta Fillinger, Katherine Fisher, Mayra Flores, Daniel Forbus, Andrew Fowler, Cameron Fox, Hector Galaviz, Andrew Gale, Akayla Galicinao, Samantha Gallo, Joshua Galyon, Justin Garber, Megan Gasho, Falon Gibson, John Giersdorf, Katharine Gillespie, Kristin Gilmore, Victoria Glover, Evan Goad, Joseph Gonzales, Tanya Gonzalez, Adam Gonzalez, Matthew Gonzalez, John Goos, Joel Graciano, Rebekah Grant, Rachel Graves, Vicki Graves, Juliane Grayson, Michael Grayson Hunter Greason-Peterson, Kiana Green, Bryce Gregory, Rachel Griffo, Clarissa Grill-Gayton, Joshua Guerra, Sandra Guevara, Jessica Guild, Michelle Guilmette, Blythe Guvenen,
H-I
Ashley Haas, Michael Hall, Josiah Hanes, Mohammed Hansen, America Hanson, Amy Hanson, Charles Hanson, Danielle Harbison, Jeffrey Hardcastle, Alexalyn Hardgrave, Okoye Harris, Samuel Harrison, Anthony Harsson, Nicholas Hauser, Ilena Hawk, Kaylen Hayes, Ronald Hegedus Jr., Rhiannon Helms, Bradley Henderson, Alexandria Herbert, Andrea Hernandez, Racil Hernandez, Leslie Hernandez, Sarah Herndon, Jordan Hersey, Rachel Highsmith, Stephen Hill, Trey Hill, Mario Hineman, James Hinton, Laura Hizer, Daniel Hjelmeland, Margaret Hobbs, J Wesley Hocker, Nickolas Hoffsmith, Aaron Horlick, Ashleigh Horn, Rachel Hosterman, Matthew Houston, Joshua Hoyt, Zachary Huffman, Jared Hunt, Danica Hurter, John Husson, Traci Huttsell, Tiffany Hyde, Michael Ingram, Juliana Irizarry
J-L
Diana Jackson, Marcus Jackson, Ariana Jackson, Carolynn Jacobs, Alison Jahner, Brandi Jeanes, Robert Jenkins, Evan Jiggetts, Andre Johnson, Brent Johnson, Heather Johnson, Roosevelt Johnson, Trevor Johnson, Curtis Johnson, Charley Johnston, Barry Johnstun, Daniel Jones, Sean Jones, David Jones Jr., Andrew Jorgensen, Tinesha Julien, Vanessa Keeme, Sarah Kellett, Alexandria Kellum, Khemika Kemawong, Blayne Kennedy, Kelsey Keough, Timothy Kern, Kevin Keys, Michael King, Sarah Kingston, Anthony Kirkpatrick, Andrea Kissinger, Russell Klabough, Jessica Kleese, Jakob Klein, Zachary Klinefelter, Kelly Kowalczyk, Andrea Kuhl, Jessica Kukuchka-Melder, Barbara Kushner, Evan Lake, Jeremy Lawson, Ryan Lawson, Ryan Leaveck, Kristin Lee, Barney Lee Trejo, Michael Leigh, Rosa Leon, Ajelina Lewis, Cody Lewis, Mahala Lewis, Aaron Ligon, Xiao Ye Liu, Megan Lockhart, Traci Long, Jairo Lopez, Nathaniel Lopez, Heather Lopez, Jose Lopez, Niltza Lopez, Brian Lovato, Manuel Loyola, Amanda Lujan, Patrick Lujan III, Zachary Luse
M-N
Brandon MacLellan, Danelle MacPhail, Keefer Macy, Jessica Madden, Zachary Maheu, Chelsea Marks, Enrique Martan, Kristen Martin, Madalyn Maschue, Charlene Mason, Jessica Mathes, Arthur Matthews, Ceyonna Matthews, Kayla Matthews, Bridget Maupin, Steven Mayberry, Sean McCuskey, Brittany McDurfee, Yvonne McGarry, Sara McGlynn, Corey McMillan, Caitlin McPhillips, Charlotte Meador, Patricia Meadows, Teena Mecucci, Monica Medina, Gary Meisner II, Vitoria Mello, Dasia Mendez, Anya Mesch, Tory Michaels, Kristian Miguel, Billy Miles Jr., Corey Miller, Andrea Miller, Jayme Millican, Rene Miramontes Tarango, Jasper Mizani, Ruben Molina, Sistina Molina, John Monsen, Iliana Montano, Iveth Montano, Ericka Montgomery, Daniel Montoya, Alexis Moore, Kurtis Moore, Tyler Moore, Joshua Morgan, Chelsea Moss, Emily Moxley, Manumalo Muasau, Heather Muffler, Emanuel Munoz, Elizabeth Murdock, Amanda Murphy, Anthony Nardulli, Veronica Navarrete, Danielle Navarro, Justin Neal, Jessica Nelson, Christopher Nieto, Nicole Nieto, Alberto Noeggerath
O-Q
Nicole Ocariza, Matthew Ojerio, Andres Olivares, Rosalie Ortiz, Jericho Overton (Smith), Troy Owen, Bruce Owens, Carley Pacholski, Jillienn Padello, Abbey Paige, Manuel Panameno, Suzanne Paris, Justin Pascual, Kelli Patterson, Renee Peck, Danielle Perry, Kayla Peterson, Arielle Pettis, Ruth Phipps, Niccole Pierre, Xavier Pineda, Joseph Pino, Richard Piper, Maxim Pitroff, Brittany Pitts, Sarah Pitts, Shiloah Platter, Shannon Pomeroy, Kimberly Posey, Alicia Potter, Daniel Pressler, Caleb Preston, Elizabeth Price, Kenneth Priest, Kessler Proctor, Leah Proctor, Spencer Pryor, Daniella Pudelwitts, Michael Puett, Matthew Quick, Vanessa Quinonez
R
Shannon Radke, Elizabeth Rakestraw, Kristina Ramirez, Ricardo Ramirez Jr., Gabriel Ramos, Alexander Reidell, Elisabeth Reineke, Arman Reyes, Vianna Reyes, Nicholas Rice, Joshua Richards, Melissa Richards, Ashley Richardson (Thompson), Ricky Richter, Natosha Rife, Stephanie Ritter, Alysha Rivera, Christopher Rivera, Dale Robins, Jessica Robison, Amaryllis Robles, Eduardo Rojo, Ana Roman Montes, Brittni Romero, Maricela Romero, Daniel Romero, Margaret Rose, Jennifer Roxberry, Zane Rudkin, Ariana Ruiz, Laura Rule, Nolan Ryan
S
Jayme Saari, Joshua Saari, Roman Sadorf, Nathalie Salazar, Erinne Salo, Nicole Sanchez, Christina Sawdey, Lisa Saylor, Keith Scaggs, Andrew Schaeffer, Sarah Schaff, Anna Schneider, John Schramm, James Schwantes, Kamber Schwarz, Gordon Scott, Christopher Semmler, Natasha Shear, Trell Shepard, Frank (Bill) Sherod III, Kristopher Shojinaga, Bryan Sieler, Karinna Sierra, Max Silva, Alycia Simons, Kourtland Simpson, Ashley Sims, Aaron Sindelar, Alanna Sineath, Buddy Skowron Jr., Ryan Sloss, Trevor Slough, Sean Slycord, Danielle Smith, Candice Smith, Eric Smith, Katherine Smith, Linda Smith, Lindsey Smith, Martha Smith, Carlton Smith Jr., Hannah Solis, Rachel Solis, Daniela Soto Serna, Jan St Clair, Lee Stark, Bryan Stevens, Nicholas Stewart, Shelby Stierman, Preston Stoney, Alexa Straton, Jacob Strichek, Natasha Sueing, Mariah Sullender, Eleanor Sutro, Brittany Sutton, Heather Swan, Keniatta Sylvester
T-Z
Anwar Tanash, Kathryn Taylor, Antoine Thomas, Jacob Thomas, Jordon Thome, Kyle Thornhill, Coral Tigert, Steven Tillman, Alyssa Tims, Shayne Tomes, Benjamin Toresdahl, Kevin Treftz, Jordan Trujillo, Lina Trujillo, Miguel Trujillo, Michael Tryon, Levi Tubb, Nathan Tuggle, Victoria Uliasz, Felicia Valladares, Edgar Ventura, Zachary Vikander (Diaz), Sabrina Villegas (Renteria), Braden Vincent, Patricia Walczyk, Rachel Waldron, Stacy Walker, Richard Ward, Demarus Warren, Evelyn Welch, Anthony Westover, Alexander Westrick, Laura Anne Wheat, Timothy White, Trevor White, Darrin Whitman, Cameron Whitney-Smith, Kylee Wilber, Leanne Willey, Jamie Williams, Jennifer Williams, Melissa Williams (Hardy), Cheyenne Wilson, Christine Wilson, Darryll Wilson, Sean Wilson, Steven Wilson, Zachary Wilson, Jessika Wirsu, Jared Witham, Tammy Witzens, Jamal Womble, Karen Wong, Athena Wood, Darrin Wood, Marissa Woolery, Rachel Workman, Jenna Wright, Pearl Wright, Leonard Wright III, Anahi Yanes, Soo Hwan (Josh) Yang, Christopher Yankah, Steven Yarnell, Seung Yu, Jamie Zayas, Amy Zubia, Kassidy Zwaagstra
Source: Buena High School
Grandma wrote on May 29, 2009 3:15 AM: