Publication Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Heads of the class
Heads of the class
(June 16, 2004) Graduates see end of high school as bittersweet
by Alexandria Rocha
Yearbooks have been signed and diplomas distributed. Tassels have moved from the right to the left and goodbyes have been delivered.
This spring, about 825 students graduated from both Palo Alto and Gunn high schools. Along with their high school careers, the ceremonies are over. What remains is a swell of accomplishment and an anticipation for the challenge of events to come.
"It's great here and a part of me is really sad, but I'm most excited about moving on," said Dan Moyer, 18, a Gunn High School graduate.
Moyer, who will leave sunny California behind this fall to endure his first white winter at New York University, is just one of the many local graduates pursuing goals of higher education.
Among this year's alumni from both high schools, 95 percent will attend college, including 35 percent going to various University of California campuses and 5 percent entering the California State University system. The rest will attend junior, private and out-of-state colleges.
"It's bittersweet. The bitter part is leaving your friends and familiarity of where you live," said Amy Rogg, 18, a Paly graduate headed to Pepperdine University to study communications.
"The sweet part is venturing off into something new," Rogg added.
The Class of 2004 is leaving high school just as state and national events are reshaping how teenagers live their lives, the luxuries they take, and the roles they play in today's society.
Proposed legislation that would lower California's voting age to 14, bar teenagers from tanning salons, and prevent them from talking on cell phones while driving, have all been introduced during the high school career of the Class of 2004.
But what is now in the future for the next group of high school teenagers, is now a thing of the past for today's graduates, as most of them have or will soon turn 18.
"I think a lot of us just want to grow up, get a job," said Dani Hanabusa, 17, a Palo Alto High School graduate who will attend the University of California, Santa Barbara this fall.
The Class of 2004 has seen some extraordinary events throughout its high school career - sexual abuse in the church, scandals in the corporate world, war with Iraq and provocative reality TV are just a few.
However unsettled the outside world, today's high school graduates mainly stayed focused on getting into respected college institutions - a task, some said, was a bit overwhelming.
"It was almost a rat race to get yourself into where you wanted to get in," said Andy Palmer, 18, a Paly graduate going to Wake Forest University in North Carolina. "It's not just at Paly. It's an expectation you have when you come here. There's so many high achieving people."
So many, in fact, neither high school has named a valedictorian in years. "It's been as long as I can remember," said Nancy Elliot, Paly's college advisor.
Gunn's Principal Scott Laurence, who will become Paly's chief administrator this fall, said the Arastradero Road campus does not honor valedictorians or salutatorians either.
As alumni Moyer put it, "It's very difficult to be the best."
To combat such stiff competition, Palmer tried not to compare himself with anyone.
"There's a lot of talented people out there. Just do what you know how to do," he said. For Palmer, that was serving as one of two student members on the Palo Alto Unified School District's Board of Education.
Palmer's philosophy also helped his classmate, Rogg, maintain focus on activities she especially enjoyed. Rogg was president of Paly's Class of 2004 student body.
"Don't overload yourself; don't involve yourself in everything," she said. "Pick two activities, or as many as you know you can do well."
Today's high school students also walk a delicate balance between pursuing positive goals and experimenting with teenage rebellion.
"Dealing with things like drugs and alcohol was hard," said Saudi Marine, 17, a Gunn graduate heading to the San Francisco Art Institute. "It's hard to know at first what to do when a new friend comes up to you with alcohol or something. Most of us don't get involved, but it's that little few."
Marine said for now he is concerned with keeping his job at Haagen-Dazs throughout the summer before he heads to San Francisco.
"I'll probably miss it later on, but right now I can't wait," he added.
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
