Another year of young adults graduate from high school and prepare to go off to the next stage of their lives. But before they leave, the graduating seniors are celebrated for their high school achievements at Senior Awards Night. The over 80 seniors who gathered at the theater on June 4 to receive their awards were supported by their family and friends.

“I really enjoy [Senior Awards Night] because so many of my friends are seniors and seeing them being recognized for how great they are is really touching,” junior Scott Fryslie said.

Award presenters included local leaders, parents, teachers and business owners. Scholarships were the first matter of business. Principal Mrs. Debra Hawkins started off the ceremony with a proud speech about the accomplishments of our seniors and how great they will become. Students had shown excellence in everything from ROTC to academics to leadership and were rewarded with helpful sums of scholarship money. The many scholarship recipients could barely fit on the stage at one time.

The awards section included California Scholarship Federation membership, National Honor Society membership, California Distinguished Scholars, Valedictorians and the Whitney High Top Cats.

Helping with the setup and organization were a team of volunteers from the National Honor Society. “I was helping lead the presenters to their seats and helped make sure everything was in order,” NHS volunteer Aditya Srinivasan said.

College and Career Center head Mr. Patrick Floyd and counselor Mrs. Roisin LeRoy were the main organizers of the event. They were rushing around getting everything ready and prepared minutes before the beginning of the ceremony.

“I need some juice, I’m going to die,” Floyd said just after the event had come to a close.
After a night of heartfelt speeches and proud moments, the seniors and their families gathered in the theater lobby to congratulate each other on their success and reminisce on good times.

by ADITYA NIRGUN